SOME  LETTERS  OF 
AUGUSTUS  PEABODY   GARDNER 


Augustus  Peabody  Gardner 

From  a  photograph  by  Curtis  Bell,  New  York 


SOME  LETTERS  OF 

AUGUSTUS  PEABODY  GARDNER 

EDITED  BY 

CONSTANCE  GARDNER 


With  Portraits 


BOSTON  AND  NEW  YORK 
HOUGHTON  MIFFLIN  COMPANY 

The  Riverside  Press  Cambridge 
1920 


COPYRIGHT,    1920,   BY  CONSTANCE  GARDNER 
ALL   RIGHTS   RESERVED 


TO 

CONSTANCE  GARDNER  MINOT 


562772 


CONTENTS 

INTRODUCTION  xi 

I.    THE  SPANISH  WAR  1 

II.    CONGRESS  AND  POLITICS  39 

III.  WAR-TIME  ACTIVITIES  85 

IV.  THE  ARMY  AGAIN  112 


ILLUSTRATIONS 

AUGUSTUS  PEABODY  GARDNER  Frontispiece 

CAPTAIN    GARDNER    IN    THE    SPANISH 

WAR  28 

CONGRESSMAN     GARDNER    IN     WASH 
INGTON  8O 

MAJOR  GARDNER  AT    CAMP  WHEELER, 

NOVEMBER,   191?  12° 


INTRODUCTION 

AFGUSTUS  PEABODY  GARDNER 
was  born  in  Boston  on  November  5, 
1865.  He  received  his  early  education  at 
Hopkinson's  School  in  Boston  and  at  St. 
Paul's  School,  Concord,  New  Hampshire, 
and  was  graduated  from  Harvard  in  1886. 
After  graduation  he  made  his  permanent 
home  in  Hamilton  and  was  in  business  in 
Boston.  In  1892  he  married  Constance 
Lodge,  only  daughter  of  Senator  Henry 
Cabot  Lodge. 

In  1898,  at  the  outbreak  of  the  war  with 
Spain,  he  received  a  Commission  as  Cap 
tain  and  Assistant  Adjutant-General,  and  was 
assigned  to  the  Staff  of  Major-General  James 
H.  Wilson.  He  served  in  the  Porto  Rican 
campaign  and  was  recommended  for  a  Brevet 
Majority,  "  for  gallant  and  meritorious  serv 
ices/'  though  he  did  not  actually  receive  his 
Brevet  rank  till  some  years  afterwards. 

c:  xn 


INTRODUCTION 

In  the  autumn  of  1899  he  was  elected  to 
the  Massachusetts  State  Senate  and  served 
two  terms.  In  1902  he  was  elected  to  Con 
gress  from  the  Sixth  District  of  Massachu 
setts.  His  service  in  Congress  was  continuous 
until  he  resigned  on  May  22,  1917,  to  enter 
the  United  States  Army.  He  was  commis 
sioned  as  Colonel  and  Adjutant-General,  and 
was  assigned  to  the  Staff  of  Major-General 
J.  Franklin  Bell,  M.H.,  commanding  the  De 
partment  of  the  Northeast,  at  Governor's 
Island,  New  York.  Here  he  remained  until 
August,  1917,  when  he  was  ordered  to  report 
to  Major-General  Francis  J.  Kernan,  D.S.M., 
commanding  the  sist  Division,  at  Camp 
Wheeler,  Georgia. 

In  December,  1917,  he  was,  at  his  own  re 
quest,  transferred  to  the  line,  which  necessi 
tated  his  losing  two  grades  in  rank.  On  De 
cember  8  he  came  to  Washington  and  was 
"  demoted."  He  was  then  sworn  in  again  as 
a  Major  and  was  assigned  to  the  command 
of  a  battalion  in  the  i2ist  (Georgia)  Infan- 

C  xiO 


INTRODUCTION 

try.  He  served  a  month  with  his  battalion 
and  was  then  stricken  with  pneumonia.  He 
died  at  the  Base  Hospital,  Camp  Wheeler, 
Georgia,  on  January  14, 1918.  He  was  fifty- 
two  years  old. 

C.  G. 


SOME  LETTERS  OF  AUGUSTUS 
PEABODY  GARDNER 

i 

THE  SPANISH  WAR 

To  HON.  HENRY  CABOT  LODGE 

Boston,  April  6,  1898 

DEAR  MR.  LODGE  : 

GEORGE  LYMAN  i  has  just  read  me  a  long 
letter  which  he  has  written  you  on  the  situa 
tion  as  it  is  at  this  end.  What  he  says  about 
the  sentiment  here,  I  am  afraid,  is  true.  Eu 
gene  Thayer  is  the  only  man  this  morning 
that  I  have  seen  who  felt  at  all  warlike. 
Even  the  Hamilton  carpenter  with  whom 
I  talked  this  morning  said  he  couldn't  see 
how  any  sensible  man  could  want  war. 
Whether  this  anti-war  feeling  is  manufac- 

1  Hon.  George  H.  Lyman,  a  leading  Republican  in 
Massachusetts,  and  at  one  time  Collector  of  the  Port  of 
Boston. 

C  i  3 


LETTERS  OF  AUGUSTUS  P.  GARDNER 
tured  or  not  I  cannot  tell,  but  I  am  afraid  it 
exists. 

Of  course  it  is  for  you  to  decide  as  seems 
best  to  you.  I  dare  say  there  are  a  great 
many  aspects  of  the  situation  which  I  cannot 
see ;  but  I  wish  to  say  as  strongly  as  possible 
that,  if  you  decide  to  oppose  the  President, 
you  will  have  at  least  one  man  who  will  do 
all  in  his  power  to  uphold  you.  Of  course, 
you  know  perfectly  well  that  anything  which 
hurts  you  politically  finishes  me  as  well.  But 
this  does  not  alter  my  views  as  to  the  right 
and  wrong  of  the  question. 

Sincerely  yours 

A.  P.  GARDNER 

To  His  WIFE 

Chattanooga,  Tenn. 

May  26,  1898 

WE  had  a  most  interesting  trip  down,   as 
Fitzhugh  Lee's 1  car  went  on  our  train  from 

1  Major-General  Fitzhugh  Lee,  a  nephew  of  General 
Robert  E.  Lee. 

C  2  3 


TO  HIS  WIFE 

Danville  to  Salisbury,  and  there  were  crowds 
to  greet  him  at  every  station.  At  i  A.M.,  as 
we  were  peacefully  sleeping,  a  detail  from  a 
Young  Ladies'  College  at  Asheville,  N.C.,  got 
on  the  sleeping-car  and  did  not  subside  until 
they  had  given  us  the  college  yell  several 
times. 

We  arrived  here  in  the  morning,  put 
on  our  uniforms,  and  reported.  I  was  then 
turned  over  to  General  Wilson,1  where  a 
tent  was  pitched  for  me  and  I  spent  the 
night.  The  General,  I  think,  regards  me  in 
the  light  of  a  sacred  white  elephant. 

The  camp  is  lovely  with  cool  breezes  and 
shade  trees  among  the  mountains.  I  slept 
last  night  under  a  blanket. 

There  is  another  amateur  in  the  staff  awk 
ward  squad  ! 

1  Major-General  James  H.  Wilson,  a  cavalry  com 
mander  with  General  Philip  Sheridan  in  the  War  of  the 
Rebellion  and  the  captor  of  Jefferson  Davis,  Command 
ing  General  of  the  Sixth  and  subsequently  of  the  First 
Army  Corps  in  the  war  with  Spain. 


C   3 


LETTERS  OF  AUGUSTUS  P.  GARDNER 

To  His  WIFE 

Hdqrs.  1st  Div.  1st  Corps 
Camp  G.  H.  Thomas,  Ga. 

May  29,  1898 

DEAREST  CONSTANCE  : 

I  HAVE  not  had  a  second  to  myself  since 
I  last  wrote  you;  but  as  today  is  Sunday  I 
shall  be  able  to  spare  as  much  as  one  hour 
in  the  twenty-four. 

Fortunately  I  have  to  bend  my  whole 
mind  into  learning  my  business,  and  I  am 
told  that  I  am  getting  ahead  very  well.  I  was 
none  too  well  for  two  days,  having  caught  a 
cold  and  sore  throat.  I  am  feeling  tip-top  now, 
however,  and  the  cold  did  not  interfere  with 
my  working  fourteen  hours  or  more  a  day. 

There  is  a  good  deal  of  suffering  among 
the  troops,  I  am  sorry  to  say.  Insufficient 
water  is  one  of  the  causes ;  but  food  supply 
is  not  yet  well  organized.  Thousands  of  the 
men  have  no  uniform  nor  much  of  anything 
else.  There  seems  to  be  plenty  of  tenting 
and  transportation,  however. 

CO 


TO  HIS  WIFE 
I  give  you  my  work  yesterday : 

A.M. 

5.30  Reveille.     Dressed,     fixed     camp, 

1,000,000  odd  jobs. 
6.30  Breakfast.   1,000,000  odd  jobs. 
7.30-8.30  Fatigue  duty.  (Bossing  job  of  polic 
ing  and  cleaning  camp.) 
8.30-9.30  Rode  on  business  to  Ordnance  and 

Quartermaster's  Headqrts. 
9.30-10  Fatigue  duty.   (Raising  hell  gener 
ally   with   Quartermaster    Sergeant 
and  Police  Detail   for  not  working 
quick  enough  or  thoroughly  enough . ) 
10-11  Odd  jobs   connected  with  officers' 

mess. 
11-12  Rode  on  visit  to  8th  Mass,  (about 

2  miles). 
P.M. 

12-12.20  Dinner. 
12.20-4  Adj't.  Gen'l  office  work.   Briefing, 

endorsing,  etc. 
4-5  Odd  jobs. 

5-6  Office  work  and  ride  inspecting  drill. 
6-7  Inspecting  parade  with  Gen'l  Wil 
son,  which  includes  riding  furiously 


LETTERS  OF  AUGUSTUS  P.  GARDNER 

all  over  Hell's  Kitchen  to  find  all 
sorts  of  people  who  are  riding  all 
over  the  same  Kitchen  to  find  other 
people. 

'  7-8  Changing  clothes  and  supper. 
8-8.30  Odd  jobs  and  visit  of  Col.  and  Lt. 

Col.  of  12th  N.Y. 
8.30-9  (Tattoo.)  Office  work. 
9-10.30  Sword  drill  and  odd  studies  from 

manuals. 

10.30-11.30  Hat  talk  with  the  night  owl  officers. 
11.45  Downy. 

General  Wilson  is  a  remarkable  man.  I 
have  not  time  to  write  more.  Best  love  to 
you  and  baby. 


To  His  WIFE 

Hdqrs.  1st  Div.  1st  Corps 
Camp  Geo.  H.  Thomas,  Ga. 

June  2,  1898 

MY  DEAREST  CONSTANCE: 
IT  makes  a  man  exceedingly  proud  of  his 
countrymen  to  see  thousands  on  thousands  of 
lads  with  clean-cut  faces  and  clean  habits  all 


TO  HIS  WIFE 

looking  exactly  alike  whether  from  North, 
South,  East  or  West. 

Things  are  still  so  disorganized  that  rations, 
clothes,  etc.,  do  not  always  arrive,  and  most 
of  the  boys  are 'dead  broke  and  will  not  get 
their  pay  (Lord  and  the  Department  know 
why)  until  July  i.  The  consequence  is  a  good 
deal  of  hardship.  Between  ourselves  you  have 
no  conception  of  the  inefficiency  of  the  De 
partment  and  resulting  indignation  among 
the  officers  and  misery  among  a  few  of  the 
men. 

My  eyes  have  gone  back  on  me  so  I  can 
not  write  you  a  long  letter;  but  otherwise  I 
am  well  and  should  be  happy  if  you  and  baby 
were  here. 

I  wish  you  would  make  me  a  present  of  a 
cavalry  sabre  and  have  it  marked.  The  nasty 
little  thing  I  got  in  Washington  is  worthless 
and  bent  and  gone  up  spout  generally.  You 
do  not  need  to  get  any  particular  kind;  but 
just  a  good  substantial  sabre,  marked  from 
you  to  me. 

c  7  n 


LETTERS  OF  AUGUSTUS  P.  GARDNER 
The  enlisted  men  are  many  of  them  from 
the  best  families  of  the  country.  One  of  the 
orderlies  here  owns  a  yacht.  A  corporal  in 
the  camp  is  son  of  a  West  Point  graduate  and 
general  of  the  Civil  War.  There  is  a  private 
in  the  sd  Wisconsin  who  is  a  West  Point 
graduate  and  was  nine  years  an  officer  in  the 
Army. 


To  His  WIFE 

Hdqrs.  \stDzv.  1st  Corps 
Camp  Geo.  H.  Thomas,  Ga. 

June  5,  1898 

MY  DEAREST  CONSTANCE  . 
THANK  the  kmb  for  her  pansy  and  give  her 
a  kiss  for  me.    I  enclose   a  bit  of  mistletoe 
which  a  private  in  the  5th  Illinois  has  just 
given  me. 

Your  question  of  whether  we  are  likely 
to  go  to  Cuba  necessitates  my  making  a  rather 
complicated  explanation. 

General  Wilson  is  commander  of  the  6th 
Corps,  an  organization  which  consists  merely 

[   8   II 


TO  HIS  WIFE 

of  a  staff  of  a  few  men;  but  as  yet  no  troops. 
For  the  present  he  is  also  commander  of  the 
ist  Division  of  the  ist  Corps  under  General 
Brooke  who  commands  the  ist  Corps. 

Now  several  things  may  happen.  If  the 
war  is  to  continue  till  winter  a  Sixth  Corps 
will  be  needed,  and  only  a  few  days'  obser 
vation  is  required  to  convince  any  one  that 
such  a  Corps  organized  by  General  Wilson 
could  give  double  discount  and  beat  any  other 
corps  here.  This  work  of  organization  will 
take  several  months.  The  troops  that  have 
left  here,  presumably  for  Cuba,  -were  not  Jit 
logo. 

Now  General  Wilson  will  probably  decide 
shortly  whether  he  will  organize  a  corps  of 
his  own  or  get  a  command  in  a  half-fit  organi 
zation  bound  for  Cuba  earlier  and  unlikely  to 
do  him  much  credit.  He  has  told  me  that  he 
will  take  me  with  him  whatever  he  does,  un 
less  I  can  better  myself.  If  I  could  get  a  line 
commission  in  the  8th  Massachusetts,  I  might 
take  it,  in  which  case  I  might  be  sent  to  Cuba 

c  9 : 


LETTERS  OF  AUGUSTUS  P.  GARDNER 
any  time  or  not  till  winter.  I  am  just  as  likely 
to  guess  wrong  as  right ;  but  all  the  Regular 
Army  men  here  advise  me  to  stick  to  General 
Wilson.  If  the  enemy  were  strong,  of  course 
that  would  be  best,  as  his  corps,  if  he  organ 
ized  it  himself,  would  be  hot  stuff.  I  will  post 
you  on  any  change  in  the  situation. 

I  had  a  terrible  day  yesterday.  The  Adju 
tant-General  went  to  town  for  the  day  and  I 
took  his  duties  and  responsibilities.  I  worked 
from  8  A.M.  to  7  P.M.  (ten  minutes  out  for 
dinner).  Everybody  works  like  mad  here. 

I  saw  a  review  of  a  division  (nine  thousand 
men)  yesterday.  It  was  an  impressive  sight. 

Majors  Flagler l  and  Reber 2  are  my  two 
greatest  friends  on  the  Staff.  They  are  about 
my  age,  both  regulars  and  both  tough. 

1  Major  Clement  A.  Flagler,  U.S.A.,  Engineers.  War 
rank  in  1918,  Major-General. 

2  Major  Samuel  Reber,  U.S.A.,  Signal  Corps.  Colonel 
in  1916,  now  dead. 


C  10  3 


TO  HIS  WIFE 

To  His  WIPE 

Hdqrs.  1st  Div.  1st  Corps 
Camp  Geo.  H.  Thomas^  Ga. 

June  12,  1898 

MY  DEAREST  CONSTANCE  : 

WE  had  a  review  of  our  division  yesterday  with 

6000  men  under  arms.  It  was  a  grand  sight. 

It  is  awfully  hard  to  tell  where  we  are  at. 
It  looks  a  little  as  if  the  Government  meant 
to  leave  General  Wilson  without  troops. 

If  I  can  get  into  the  line  in  the  8th  Massa 
chusetts  as  a  Second  Lieutenant,  I  think  I 
shall  perhaps  resign  my  commission  as  a  Staff 
officer.  I  think  I  can  get  a  lieutenancy  in 
the  14th  New  York;  but  shall  probably  not 
take  it,  as  I  am  as  well  off  here.  I  think  the 
8th  Massachusetts  much  more  likely  to  get 
to  Cuba  than  General  Wilson.  Staff  duty  I 
like ;  but  of  course  the  fighting  line  is  pref 
erable.  One  is  about  as  dangerous  as  the  other. 

The  health  of  the  troops  is  improving  fast, 
I  am  glad  to  say,  and  the  division  is  progress 
ing  fast. 


LETTERS  OF  AUGUSTUS  P.  GARDNER 
I  am  studying  infantry  drill  a  great  deal  so 
that  if  I  get  into  the  line  I  may  know  my  busi 
ness,  and  am  working  hard  at  other  things. 
Best  love  to  yourself  and  baby. 

To  His  WIFE 

Hdqrs.  1st  Div.  1st  Corps 
Camp  Geo.  H.  Thomas,  Ga. 

June  19,  1898 

MY  DEAREST  CONSTANCE  : 
I  AM  getting  quite  thin  on  the  hard  work ; 
but  not  getting  hard,  as  I  have  very  little 
time  for  exercise.  I  wear  my  glasses  a  good 
deal  now ;  but  I  think  the  trouble  with  my 
eyes  is  in  the  nature  of  pink-eye. 

The  sword  is  very  much  admired  by  every 
one  here  and  I  think  it  a  beauty. 

I  think  my  chance  to  get  into  the  8th  Mas 
sachusetts  will  peter  out;  first,  because  the 
expected  vacancy  is  no  longer  expected;  sec 
ond,  because  the  General  jumped  on  me  when 
I  suggested  the  scheme.  If  my  eyes  give  out, 
however,  I  have  got  to  get  into  the  line. 

c  i*  i 


TO  HIS  WIFE 

I  get  a  good  many  pleasant  things  said  to 
me  about  the  way  my  work  is  done ;  but  this 
is  largely  accounted  for  by  the  fact  that  all 
the  political  appointments  start  with  the  pre 
sumption  of  incompetence. 

The  6th  Corps  troops  will  begin  to  arrive 
about  the  first  of  the  month  and  then  we  shall 
see  things  hum.  The  General  is  head  and 
shoulders  above  all  the  rest  in  competence 
and  his  command  will  be  a  hummer. 


To  His  WIFE 

Hdqrs.  1st  Div.  1st  Corps 
Camp  Geo.  H.  Thomas,  Ga. 

June  24,  1898 

MY  DEAREST  CONSTANCE  : 
THERE  is  a  rumor  here  that  the  8th  Massa 
chusetts  is  to  go  at  once  to  Santiago.  The 
Captain  of  the  Salem  Company  has  resigned 
and  the  vacancy  (between ourselves  strictly) 
has  been  offered  to  Jacque  Peabody 1  whose 
father  and  grandfather  were  captains  of  the 

1  Captain  Jacob  C.  R.  Peabody,  of  Salem. 

n  is  ] 


LETTERS  OF  AUGUSTUS  P.  GARDNER 
Salem  Company.  If  he  declines,  it  will  prob 
ably  be  offered  to  me,  and  I  shall  accept  it 
if  I  am  allowed  to.  In  case  orders  were  re 
ceived  to  move  before  Jacque's  answer  arrives, 
it  will  be  offered  to  me  and  I  shall  try  to  get 
my  discharge  by  telegraph  and  accept  it.  Of 
course,  I  shall  keep  you  informed  by  wire  if 
anything  happens. 

The  land  battle  in  Cuba  has  driven  every 
one  here  wild  with  anxiety  to  get  off.  The 
6th  Corps  will  begin  to  receive  troops  about 
July  i.  I  expect  the  regiment  Frosty1  is  in 
will  be  in  the  Corps.  I  fancy  that  what  Gen 
eral  Wilson  is  counting  on  is  being  the  man 
to  take  Havana  at  the  end  of  the  year ;  but  I 
should  rather  take  my  chances  with  the  boys 
from  Essex  County. 

There  is  no  disguising  the  fact,  I  am  aw 
fully  homesick  and  do  not  grow  any  less  so. 

Love  to  baby  and  heaps  for  yourself. 

1  Frank  Ravenel  Frost,  of  Charleston,  South  Carolina. 
A  classmate  of  Captain  Gardner. 

C  143 


TO  HIS  WIFE 

To  His  WIFE 

July  3,  1898 

DEAREST  CONSTANCE  : 
MY  chance  in  the  8th  Massachusetts  fell 
through  owing  to  Jacque  Peabody's  accept 
ance  of  the  vacant  captaincy.  We  are  still 
here,  and  the  Lord  knows  when  we  shall  get 
away,  certainly  not  for  a  week.  Meanwhile 
other  men  are  doing  something. 

I  send  you  a  photograph  with  names  writ 
ten  on  back  in  another  package.  It  is  pretty 
good.  I  also  enclose  my  first  pay.  Buy  some 
thing  for  yourself  with  it.  Next  month's  pay 
will  be  devoted  to  little  Constance,  unless  I 
am  short  of  money. 

All  the  men  are  terribly  disappointed 
about  the  delay  in  moving. 

By  the  way,  Colonel  Pew,  of  the  8th  Mas 
sachusetts,  told  me  yesterday  that  he  thought 
it  would  be  a  good  thing  if  the  Volunteer 
Aid  i  sent  money  instead  of  their  next  ship- 

1  Mrs.  Gardner  was  working  with  the  Massachusetts 
Volunteer  Aid  Association. 

c  15  n 


LETTERS  OF  AUGUSTUS  P.  GARDNER 
ment.  Express  charges  are  enormous  and 
Chattanooga  and  the  Commissary  Depart 
ment  sell  everything.  The  Commissary  stuff 
is  of  the  highest  quality  at  government  con 
tract  prices. 

Congressman  Moody  is  here  staying  for  a 
day  or  two  with  the  8th. 


To  His  WIFE 

Hdqrs.  1st  Div.  1st  Corps 

Charleston,  S.C. 
July  9,  1898 

DEAREST  CONSTANCE: 

I  AM  starting  to  write  you  this  tonight  as  I 
think  it  possible  that  our  transports  may  ar 
rive  tomorrow,  in  which  case  everything  will 
be  in  a  rush. 

I  have  not  had  a  minute  since  I  have  come 
here  and  my  bedroom  now  looks  like  a  scene 
from  "Secret  Service/'  strewn  with  tele 
grams  and  papers,  saddles,  ammunition,  and 
three  typewriters.  I  have,  at  all  events,  the 
satisfaction  of  feeling  that  I  am  playing  a 

16 


TO  HIS  WIFE 

distinct  part  in  getting  this  expedition  through. 
Although  I  have  been  nominally  relieved  as 
Division  Adjutant,  I  am  actually  acting  in 
that  capacity.  We  expected  our  two  brigades 
to  go  in  the  Harvard,  Tale,  and  Columbia; 
but  the  6th  Massachusetts  went  in  the  Tale 
and  part  of  the  6th  Illinois  in  the  Columbia. 
The  rest  of  the  6th  Illinois  goes  tomorrow 
in  the  Rita  which  we  have  fitted  up  for  the 
purpose  in  two  days.  She  is  one  of  the  Span 
ish  prizes  and  I  send  you  an  egg-cup  which 
Colonel  Biddle,1  of  our  Staff,  found  on  board. 
He  was  chief  engineer  in  charge  of  the  work. 
We  have  only  one  brigade  of  our  division 
here,  viz.,  sd  and  sd  Wisconsin  and  i6th 
Pennsylvania.  The  second  brigade  (4th  Ohio, 
4th  Pennsylvania  and  sd  Illinois)  will  follow 
us  and  perhaps  our  third  brigade  ( ist  and  sd 
Kentucky  and  5th  Illinois).  We  shall  sail  on 
the  transports  Grande  Duchesse  and  JVb.  30, 
when  they  arrive,  probably  tomorrow.  The 

1  Colonel  (now  Major-General)  John  Biddle,  U.S.A., 
Engineers. 

C   17  ] 


LETTERS  OF  AUGUSTUS  P.  GARDNER 
second  brigade  will  go  later  on  the  Resolute 
and  Harvard  (probably). 

This  is  a  beautiful  old  town  and  every  one 
proffers  hospitality  which  I  have  no  time  to 
accept.  Frosty  is  at  Macon,  Georgia,  a  cap 
tain  in  the  Immunes. 

I  think  the  heat  is  tremendously  exagger 
ated.  There  is  a  cool  breeze  here  near  the 
water,  and  even  at  Camp  Thomas  the  heat 
never  approached  the  unbearable  stage.  The 
thermometer,  of  course,  is  high,  and  I  am  at 
this  moment,  though  I  have  nothing  on,  wring 
ing  with  perspiration;  but  it  is  not  oppressive. 

I  do  not  know  what  I  shall  look  like  when 
I  get  back  from  Cuba ;  but  I  assure  you  I 
am  almost  gaunt  now.  I  sent  you  a  photo 
graph  of  almost  the  whole  Staff,  where  I  look 
comparatively  thin ;  but  it  is  nothing  to  what 
I  am  now. 

I  felt  very  badly  on  hearing  that  Morton 
Henry1  had  been  wounded.  I  hope  it  was  not 

1  Captain  (now  Colonel)  Morton  J.  Henry,  volunteer 
in  the  war  with  Spain  and  now  in  the  Regular  Army. 

l8 


TO  HON.  H.  C.  LODGE 

severe;  but  it  is  better  to  be  wounded  than 
not  to  get  into  the  scrap.  We  are  scared  to 
death  that  Santiago  will  fall  before  we  get 
there.  If  it  does  we  hope  to  go  at  once  to 
Porto  Rico  and  then  organize  the  6th  Corps 
for  a  move  against  Havana. 

To  HON.  H.  C.  LODGE 

Charleston,  S.C. 
July  12,  1898 

DEAR  MR.  LODGE: 

OUR  transports  are  just  in  and  I  suppose  we 
shall  soon  be  off,  with  our  equipment  in  a 
very  unsatisfactory  state.  It  seems  a  great 
pity,  in  view  of  the  necessity  which  certainly 
exists  according  to  the  Regular  officers  who 
are  just  back  from  Santiago  for  steam  launches, 
that  we  cannot  be  allowed  to  have  them  on 
the  say-so  of  General  Ludington.1  Of  course, 
you  understand  that  there  is  no  way  for 
General  Wilson  to  approach  the  Secretary 

1  Brigadier-General  M.  I.  Ludington,  Quartermaster- 
General.  Retired  as  Major-General. 

C   19  1 


LETTERS  OF  AUGUSTUS  P.  GARDNER 

of  War  or  the  President  officially.  Pack-mule 
transportation  is  ridiculously  inadequate,  and 
altogether  I  feel  that,  although  we  are 
equipped  as  well  as  some  other  troops, 
nevertheless  our  equipment  is  not  a  proper 
one  and  I  doubt  if  it  is  ever  made  so. 

Judging  by  the  situation,  as  it  is  depicted 
to  us  by  officers  returning  here,  I  should 
think  it  very  unlikely  that  Santiago  would  fall 
before  we  get  there,  which  leaves  one  crumb 
of  comfort  in  an  otherwise  not  very  satisfac 
tory  prospect.  The  8th  Massachusetts,  which 
is  still  at  Camp  Thomas,  is  in  surprisingly 
good  shape,  considering  the  fact  that  up  to 
recently  they  have  been  in  a  division  com 
manded  by  incapable  volunteer  officers.  I 
think  that  Colonel  Pew  and  Lieutenant- 
Colonel  Bailey  deserve  the  greatest  credit  for 
saving  the  situation. 

With  best  love  to  the  family,  I  am 
Very  sincerely  yours 

A.  P.  GARDNER 


n 


TO  HIS  WIFE 

P.S.  Since  writing  the  above  one  of  the 
transports  has  again  put  to  sea  under  orders 
from  the  Navy  Department. 

To  His  WIFE 

Charleston,  S.C. 
July  15,  1898 

EVERY  one  here  is  frightfully  dispirited  at 
the  sudden  change  in  orders.  You  can't  find 
a  man  who  cares  a  damn  whether  there  is 
yellow  fever  in  Santiago  or  not,  or  who  ex 
perienced  any  pleasure  at  the  news  of  surren 
der.  It  certainly  is  pretty  tough  after  the  tre 
mendous  efforts  we  have  made  in  preparation. 

It  is  now  thought  that  we  shall  form  a  part 
of  a  Porto  Rico  expedition ;  but  every  one 
feels  that  it  will  fall  through  some  wray  or 
other.  We  may  be  ordered  in  five  minutes 
to  go  to  Newport  News  or  Fernandina  or 
back  again  to  Camp  Thomas. 

I  have  had  very  little  to  do  since  the  order 
to  stop  the  movement  came ;  but  up  to  that 
time  the  work  was  tremendous. 

C  21  3 


LETTERS  OF  AUGUSTUS  P.  GARDNER 
Our  things  are  still  on  board  the  transport 
awaiting  orders;  but  none  seem  to  be  in  a 
hurry  to  come.  Our  command  has  gathered 
a  lot  of  barnacles  here,  stray  officers,  small 
detachments  of  engineers,  signalmen,  etc.; 
drunks  left  over  from  troops  that  have  gone 
away,  men  left  in  charge  of  horses,  Cuban 
representatives,  and  every  sort  and  condition 
of  military  concomitants. 

They  had  a  dance  here  last  night  (fancy 
a  dance  in  this  latitude  on  July  14 !)  in  which 
the  Commanding  General  and  some  mem 
bers  of  his  Staff  tripped  the  light  fantastic. 


To  His  WIFE 

On  Board  U.S.  Transport,  No.  30 

At  Sea.  July  24,  1898 
Sunday 

DEAREST  CONSTANCE  : 

WE  left  Charleston  on  the  evening  of  the 
2oth  (Wednesday);  but  did  not  get  outside 
the  bar  till  morning.  The  heat  was  some 
thing  terrific  that  night;  but  the  voyage  has 


TO  HIS  WIFE 

been  cool  and  smooth  since  then.  This  is 
extremely  fortunate,  as  we  are  1500  men 
packed  like  sardines,  and  if  there  were  a 
storm  most  of  us  would  have  to  be  below 
decks  with  no  ventilation  to  speak  of. 

At  night  the  decks  are  so  covered  with 
sleeping  men  that  it  is  almost  impossible  to 
move  around.  I  have  slept  either  on  the  deck 
itself  or  in  a  hammock  on  deck  every  night, 
though  some  of  the  officers  have  braved  the 
terrors  of  the  bunks  below. 

The  work  of  preparation  in  Charleston  was 
tremendous ;  but  we  are  now  having  a  de 
lightful  loaf. 

The  Grande  Duchesse  with  the  ad  Wiscon 
sin  on  board  is  alongside  and  Transport  JVb. 
21  with  the  i6th  Pennsylvania  is  supposed 
to  be  a  few  hours  behind  with  our  wagons 
and  mules.  We  have  no  convoy ;  but  the  de 
livery  of  this  letter,  which  will  probably  go 
back  on  this  transport,  will  prove  our  safe 
arrival. 

I  am  very  well  and  all  ready  for  service 

n  *s  3 


LETTERS  OF  AUGUSTUS  P.  GARDNER 
of  any  kind.  We  do  not  know  whether  a 
landing  has  been  effected  nor  whether  the 
Navy  is  at  Porto  Rico  to  protect  our  landing ; 
but  we  suppose  it  to  be  so. 

The  sd  Wisconsin  is  on  this  ship  and  the 
men  are  in  good  shape  ;  though  I  am  sorry  to 
say  that  typhoid  fever  has  raised  the  deuce 
with  the  sd  Wisconsin. 


To  His  WIFE 

Hdqrs.  1st  Div.  1st  Corps 

Ponce,  Porto  Rico 
Sunday,  July  31,  1898 

MY  DEAREST  CONSTANCE: 
I  AM  looking  forward  to  the  time  when  I  can 
describe  to  you  verbally  the  perfect  ludicrous^ 
ness  of  this  situation. 

We  landed  loaded  to  the  muzzle  and  with 
our  teeth  set  expecting  to  fight  our  way  up 
here.  Instead  of  which  the  inhabitants  re 
ceived  us  with  open  arms  and  tremendous 
enthusiasm,  and  the  first  night  I  slept  or 
dreamt  I  slept  for  a  little  while  in  marble 

C   24   ] 


TO  HIS  WIFE 

halls.  The  fact  was  that  I  did  sleep  on  a  tes 
sellated  pavement,  but  as  I  had  nothing  under 
me  it  came  hard. 

The  only  time  I  have  even  had  my  hand 
on  my  revolver  was  two  nights  ago  when  I 
went  down  with  another  officer  and  two  sol 
diers  with  an  engine  and  an  open  car  to  Yauco. 
The  line  had  just  been  reopened  by  the  engi 
neers  and  ran  through  what  was  supposed  to 
be  the  enemy's  country;  but  devil  an  enemy 
did  we  see,  although  we  stopped  several 
times. 

We  have  pushed  our  outposts  about  eight 
miles  towards  San  Juan,  and  meanwhile  spend 
our  time  trying  to  restore  some  semblance 
of  method  in  this  city  and  in  paroling  the 
Porto  Rican  Volunteer  Army.  O  Lord !  I 
wish  you  could  see  them.  Boscabello 1  is  n't 
in  it  with  this  place. 

We  are  overcharged  for  everything,  and 
American  money  is  n't  worth  anywhere  near 

1  "  Boscabello  "  was  a  comic  opera,  popular  at  that 
time. 

C  25  ] 


LETTERS  OF  AUGUSTUS  P.  GARDNER 
its  real  value  in  Porto  Rican  money ;  but  we 
hope  this  will  be  better  soon. 

The  country  is  beautiful,  real  cocoanuts 
and  bananas  growing  on  real  palms.  I  have 
lost  all  sense  of  identity,  and  feel  precisely  as 
if  I  were  on  the  stage.  The  houses,  populace, 
soldiers,  everything  is  absurd.  I  am  going  to 
send  home  a  sword  which  was  surrendered 
to  me,  as  soon  as  I  get  a  chance.  Of  course 
it  belongs  to  the  Government  and  I  am  le 
gally  bound  to  turn  it  in ;  but  never  a  law  of 
God  or  man  counts  in  this  city  outside  of 
military  law. 

I  hope  we  shall  get  ahead  soon,  and  I  sup 
pose  we  shall  as  soon  as  provisions  and  troops 
are  landed ;  but  I  am  beginning  to  think  there 
is  no  fight  in  the  Spanish. 

I  have  not  seen  Bay1  since  the  day  we 
landed ;  but  I  suppose  the  Dixie  will  be  back 
soon,  as  she  only  went  as  far  as  St.  Thomas. 

The  regiments  here  are  6th  Illinois,  6th 

1  His  brother-in-law,  George  Cabot  Lodge,  an  ensign 
on  the  Dixie. 


TO  HIS  WIFE 

Massachusetts,  36.  Wisconsin,  ad  Wisconsin, 
i6th  Pennsylvania;  but  three  more  trans 
ports  got  in  this  evening. 

I  suppose  you  got  a  joint  letter  from  Bay 
and  me.  He  is  as  well  as  possible  and  just 
the  same.  They  have  been  lucky  enough  to 
have  several  scraps;  but  the  Navy's  fun,  I 
guess,  is  a  good  deal  over.  Uncle  Harry1 
promised  to  wire  you  from  St.  Thomas  that 
I  was  all  right. 

Of  course,  everything  has  gone  astray ;  but 
I  expect  that  an  occasional  letter  from  you  is 
likely  to  trickle  through  somehow. 

To  His  WIFE 

Hdqrs.  1st  Div.  1st  Corps 
Ponce,  P.R.,  August  2,  1898 

DEAREST  CONSTANCE  : 
WE  have  now  7000  men  here  at  Ponce,  and 
I  very  much  doubt  if  i  ooo  are  necessary.  The 
Spanish  troops  cannot  be  more  than  4000, 

1  Rear  Admiral  Charles  Henry  Davis,  U.S.N.,  in  com 
mand  of  the  Dixie. 

C  27  3 


LETTERS  OF  AUGUSTUS  P.  GARDNER 
and  they  are  said  to  be  at  Aibonito,  about 
thirty  miles  from  here. 

I  do  not  know  whether  we  shall  move  on 
them  soon  or  not,  as  the  unloading  is  very  slow, 
owing  to  the  fact  that  there  are  no  tugs  and  only 
a  few  steam  launches  belonging  to  the  Navy. 

The  rumors  of  peace  are  thick,  and  every 
one  is  more  disgusted  than  ever.  I  am  not 
bloodthirsty ;  but  I  should  like  to  see  a  little 
real  fighting  after  all  the  farce. 

I  slung  my  hammock  in  a  rose  garden 
under  a  trellis  and  tried  that  method  the  other 
night,  but  the  mosquitoes  drove  me  in.  Most 
of  the  Staff  live  in  a  fine  house  with  the  gar 
den  I  speak  of  behind.  We  have  real  china 
and  glass,  a  good  table  managed  by  the  New 
York  Sun  war  correspondent,  and  Mr.  Abra 
ham  Bryan  Sweetwine,  a  colored  gentleman 
that  we  picked  up  somehow  in  Charleston, 
South  Carolina,  to  wait  on  table  in  a  white 
jacket  and  apron.  I  suppose  when  we  get 
onto  hardtack  and  bacon,  in  the  field,  we 
shall  miss  all  this  ! 

C  28  3 


Augustus  Peabody  Gardner 

Captain  and  Assistant  Adjutant-General  in  the  Spanish  War 


TO  HIS  WIFE 

I  only  wish  I  could  picture  the  scene  here 
at  Headquarters  in  the  Commandant's  house. 
Typewriters,  telephone,  telegraph  all  going 
at  once ;  guards,  orderlies,  officers,  dagoes, 
spies,  interpreters,  damfools,  newspaper  men, 
all  jabbering.  Papers,  telegrams,  and  orders 
flying  in  all  directions.  False  reports  of  en 
gagements,  sacking,  pillage,  etc.,  coming  in 
on  the  wire.  Everything  going  with  a  whoop 
amid  cursing  and  swearing  and  injustice  and 
confusion.  I  can  hear  now  in  the  next  room 
two  officers  each  trying  to  drown  the  other's 
voice  in  dictating  to  stenographers. 

I  send  you  the  initial  copy  of  the  New  Era. 
The  officer  who  landed  and  stated  his  terms 
was  your  Uncle  Harry.1 

To  His  WIFE 

August  4,  1898 

DEAREST  CONSTANCE  : 

WE  expect  to  move  this  afternoon,  so  I  drop 

you  a  hurried  line.  The  Colonel  and  Lieu- 

1  Rear  Admiral  Davis. 


LETTERS  OF  AUGUSTUS  P.  GARDNER 
tenant-Colonel  and  two  other  officers  of  the 
Sixth  Massachusetts  (now  in  this  command) 
have  resigned.  The  regiment  is  in  pretty  bad 
shape,  and  General  Wilson  wants  to  put  me 
in  as  Colonel,  and  has  telegraphed  Governor 
Wolcott  to  that  effect. 

If  I  get  it,  which  I  don't  expect,  it  will  be 
a  stupendous  job  to  undertake  to  set  the  regi 
ment  on  its  feet. 


CABLEGRAM  TO  His  WIFE  AFTER  THE  BATTLE  OF 
COAMO 

August  10,  1898 

From  Ponce  to  Gardner,  Wenham,  Mass. 
Never  touched  me 

GARDNER 

To  His  WIFE 

Coamo,  P.R. 
August  9,  1898 

MY  DEAREST  CONSTANCE: 
I  HAVE  been  under  fire  in  a  fight  this  morn 
ing  just  outside  of  this  town,  and  as  far  as  I 
I  30  3 


TO  HIS  WIFE 

can  see  I  did  all  right.  I  believe  the  General 
has  mentioned  me  in  his  dispatches. 

Colonel  Biddle  and  I  left  camp  with  the 
i6th  Pennsylvania  yesterday  evening  and 
started  into  the  mountains,  where  we  camped. 
At  12.30  A.M.  Biddle  and  I  left  camp  with 
the  pioneer  train  and  cleared  the  road  for  the 
troops.  We  had  a  very  hard  march,  but  man 
aged  to  head  off  the  Spaniards  and  captured 
180,  killing  six  or  seven  including  the  Com 
mandant  of  Ponce.  He  exposed  himself  ter 
ribly.  I  had  a  shot  at  him  myself  with  a 
Krag-Jorgenson  which  I  borrowed.  It  was 
the  only  shot  I  fired  and,  thank  Heaven, 
I  missed. 

It  is  almost  impossible  to  realize  that  it  is 
you  they  are  firing  at.  You  feel  like  saying, 
"You  damn  fools,  don't  point  your  con 
founded  guns  this  way." 

I  sent  you  a  cablegram  this  afternoon  in 
case  you  should  hear  a  garbled  account  of 
the  fight,  merely  saying  I  was  O.K. 

Our  next  point  is  Aibonito,  where  we  shall 

c  si  n 


LETTERS  OF  AUGUSTUS  P.  GARDNER 

have  a  fight,  and  then  the  road  is  clear  to 
San  Juan  in  all  probability. 

I  was  in  the  saddle  fourteen  hours  steadily, 
except  when  I  was  leading  my  horse,  and 
part  of  the  time  during  the  fight.  I  should 
say  the  fight  lasted  about  three  quarters  of 
an  hour  and  that  about  3000  or  more  shots 
were  fired. 

A  Japanese  warrior  is  about  to  return  to 
Ponce,  so  I  must  close  this  letter  to  send  it 
by  him. 

I  had  yours  and  baby's  photo  in  my  pocket 
during  the  fight. 

To  His  WIFE 


Coamo,  P.R.,  Hdqrs.  1st  Div.  1st  Corps 

August  14,  1898 

DEAREST  CONSTANCE  : 
I  SUPPOSE  that  the  war  is  over  and  I  shall 
try  my  best  to  get  home  soon  ;  but  I  think 
I  shall  probably  need  your  father's  help  in 
getting  my  resignation  accepted.  Of  course, 
I  cannot  resign  without  General  Wilson's 

C  32  3 


TO  HIS  WIFE 

consent,  as  it  would  not  be  decent  to  leave 
him  in  the  lurch. 

I  do  not  know  whether  his  dispatch  com 
mending  me  for  gallantry  in  the  fight  at 
Coamo  ever  got  through;  but  I  shall  ab 
stract  the  duplicate  from  the  Adjutant's  rec 
ords  here  and  bring  it  home  with  me,  as  I  do 
not  care  to  trust  it  to  the  mail. 

I  had  not  been  in  ten  minutes  from  a  dan 
gerous  reconnaissance  when  the  news  came 
that  the  protocol  had  been  signed.  I  had  been 
out  in  command  of  about  thirty  cavalrymen 
and  signalmen  for  thirty  hours  in  the  moun 
tains  trying  to  find  a  road  by  which  to  attack 
Aibonito  from  the  rear. 

It  was  a  very  unpleasant  trip,  as  we  were 
fired  on  from  the  trenches  before  we  had 
been  out  two  hours,  and  from  that  time  on 
we  were  in  danger  of  ambush,  as  our  presence 
was  known.  Moreover,  we  had  to  drag  our 
horses  up  the  mountains  and  camp  in  the  rain 
on  the  side  of  a  hill  without  a  fire  to  make 
coffee  and  not  a  stitch  of  canvas  in  the  outfit. 

C   33   ] 


LETTERS  OF  AUGUSTUS  P.  GARDNER 

The  saddest  thing  I  have  seen  was  a  com 
pany  of  the  sd  Wisconsin  marching  in  the 
funeral  train  of  two  of  their  number  who 
were  killed,  probably  after  the  protocol  was 
signed.  It  seemed  so  unnecessary,  and  the 
Dead  March  from  Saul  which  the  band 
played  was  harrowing. 

I  can't  help  being  glad  the  war  is  over. 
Any  man  who  has  been  under  a  hot  fire  and 
says  he  was  not  afraid  is  either  a  fool  or  a 
liar.  There  is  no  cowardice  in  being  afraid. 
The  question  is  whether  a  man  does  his  duty 
in  spite  of  his  fear. 

I  think  I  should  have  been  used  a  good 
deal  for  reconnaissance  if  the  war  had  lasted, 
and  that  would  have  very  likely  meant  being 
bagged  to  a  certainty. 

To  His  WIFE 

Ponce,  P.R.,  August  22,  1898 

DEAREST  CONSTANCE  : 

SOON  after  the  truce  was  announced,  General 

Wilson  sent  me  off  on  a  tour  of  the  country 

:  34  3 


TO  HIS  WIFE 

to  investigate  the  school  and  taxation  system. 
I  went  as  far  as  the  city  of  Mayaguez.  The 
country  where  there  are  no  soldiers  is  in  a 
pretty  disorganized  state,  guerrillas  both  with 
Spanish  and  Porto  Rican  sympathies  abound 
ing.  I  had  no  trouble,  however,  except  in 
arresting  a  deserter  from  the  nth  Regular 
Infantry.  I  got  him  back  to  Ponce  all  right, 
however.  Who  should  turn  up  last  night  but 
Bob  Wallach l  as  a  Lieutenant  of  Artillery  and 
Walter  Abbott2  as  a  Lieutenant  of  Engineers. 
I  am  going  to  broach  the  subject  of  resig 
nation  to  General  Wilson  this  evening.  He 
has  just  returned  to  Ponce  and  is  to  be  in 
command  on  the  Island  for  the  present.  I 
have  my  fears  that  he  won't  let  me  go  just 
yet,  however,  as  I  guess  he  finds  me  useful. 
Two  of  the  Staff  leave  for  Washington  to 
night  under  orders ;  but  one  of  them  is  com 
ing  back.  It  makes  me  feel  awful  homesick. 

1  Robert  Wallach,  now  Major  of  Cavalry,  U.S.A. 
(1918). 

2  Walter  Abbott,  of  Boston,  since  dead. 

35 


LETTERS  OF  AUGUSTUS  P.  GARDNER 
I  perfectly  hate  it  here  now  that  the  war  is 
over;  but  I  shan't  go  back  on  the  old  man  after 
the  way  he  has  treated  me.  The  weather  is 
oppressive,  and  it  is  a  distinct  effort  to  attend 
to  one's  duties,  especially  sedentary  ones. 

General  Miles  leaves  tonight.  I  wish  to 
Heaven  I  was  Commander-in-Chief,  skim 
ming  off  the  cream  from  everything ! 

I  have  not  yet  begun  to  let  my  belt  out 
again ;  but  I  suppose  I  can  scarcely  hope  to 
stay  as  thin  as  I  am  now  till  you  see  me 
again.  Breeches  that  were  a  snug  fit  at 
Charleston  are  an  inch  or  more  too  large 
around  the  waist  now,  and  my  face  has 
promontories  that  I  never  suspected. 

To  His  WIFE 

Camp  near  Ponce,  P.R. 

August  28,  1898 

DEAREST  CONSTANCE  : 
WE  are  ordered  home !  Heaven  be  praised ! 
We  expect  to  sail  on  the  Concho  in  about 
a  week;  but  are  probably  going  on  board 

C   363 


TO  HIS  WIFE 

tomorrow,  as  about  half  the  Staff  is  sick.  I 
myself  have  not  been  very  well  on  account 
of  malaria  and  there  are  a  great  many  sol 
diers  very  ill. 

It  ought  to  take  us  about  a  week  to  reach 
New  York,  and  then  we  shall  go  into  camp 
near  Brooklyn,  probably,  for  a  few  days,  after 
which  I  shall  probably  either  be  mustered 
out  or  shall  get  leave  of  absence  and  go 
home  with  the  papers  of  this  division  to 
straighten  them  out  preparatory  to  turning 
them  over  to  the  War  Department. 

I  just  got  back  yesterday  from  a  trip  with 
a  small  detachment  of  soldiers  to  Sabana 
Grande  where  I  was  sent  on  the  unpleasant 
duty  of  deposing  one  alcalde  and  setting  up 
another.  I  called  a  meeting  of  the  council 
and  gave  them  fits  through  the  interpreter. 

Evidently  General  Miles  suppressed  the 
account  of  the  fight  at  Coamo.  It  was  the 
only  strategic  performance  of  the  Porto  Ri- 
can  campaign.  I  suppose  the  official  report 
will  be  suppressed  also. 

C  37  ] 


LETTERS  OF  AUGUSTUS  P.  GARDNER 

I  believe  that  in  barracks  the  men's  health 
would  be  fairly  good;  but  in  camp  with 
everything  drenched  every  few  hours  it  is 
pretty  tough. 

As  I  sit  here  I  can  look  out  of  my  tent 
and  see  the  most  beautiful  scenery  in  the 
world.  Green  hills  with  a  thunderstorm  brew 
ing  behind  them.  In  front  a  green  level 
meadow  with  occasional  trees  and  the  horses 
of  a  cavalry  troop  grazing  knee-deep  in 
grass.  A  few  tents  here  and  there,  a  few 
cattle,  and  two  army  wagons  with  large 
white  canvas  covers. 

If  all  goes  well  I  shall  reach  you  soon 
after  this  letter  does,  and  I  hope  I  shall  not 
have  changed  so  much  that  you  will  not 
know  me.  At  present  my  fine  figure  is 
much  reduced  in  its  proportions. 


II 

CONGRESS  AND  POLITICS 

To  His  WIFE 

Hamilton,  Mass. 
Aprils,  19021 

I  ENCLOSE  you  some  clippings  from  today's 
Herald.  I  am  sorry  that  the  brevet2  should 
come  just  now.  It  looks  like  politics. 

I  am  going  to  speak  before  a  French  club  in 
Haverhill  and  want  you  to  write  me  a  speech 
of  about  2500  words,  if  you  care  to  do  so. 

It  should  be  non-political ;  but  there  should 
be  plenty  of  La  Salle,  Frontenac,  Pere  Mar- 
quette,  etc.,  down  to  Sir  W.  Laurier.  Min 
gling  of  the  two  streams,  sturdy  habitants 
clasp  hands  with  sturdy  Puritan  and  Celt,  etc. 
Give  them  plenty  of  history,  Indians,  torture, 
Jesuits,  gore,  etc.  They  like  it  strong. 

I  think  the  Gardner  tide  is  beginning  to 

1  This  was  the  opening  of  Major  Gardner's  first  cam 
paign  for  Congress. 

2  His  brevet  as  Major  for  services  in  the  war  with  Spain. 

c  39 : 


LETTERS  OF  AUGUSTUS  P.  GARDNER 
rise  by  hard  work.  I  certainly  have  not  spared 
myself. 

To  His  WIFE 
Washington,  December  10,  1903 

YESTERDAY  I  went  for  a  three  hours'  walk 
or  rather  climb  with  the  President l  and  Lieu 
tenant  Fortescue.  It  is  simply  extraordinary 
that  a  man  of  the  President's  weight  and  age 
can  climb  around  the  face  of  cliffs  the  way  he 
does.  Two  secret  service  men  started  to  follow 
fiim;  but  he  sent  them  back.  Fortescue  was 
armed  ;  but  I  was  not.  I  think  that  I  shall  fol 
low  the  advice  of  the  secret  service  men  and 
carry  a  revolver  the  next  time. 

I  play  Bridge  nearly  every  night ;  but  to 
night  I  am  to  be  received  into  some  sort  of 
organization  of  Spanish  War  Veterans,  and 
tomorrow  evening  I  am  to  call  on  Colonel 
Shatswell  of  Ipswich  ( formerly  Master  of  the 
Masonic  Lodge  there )  to  get  some  instructions 
for  my  next  degree. 

1  President  Theodore  Roosevelt. 


TO  HIS  DAUGHTER 

To  His  DAUGHTER 

December  12,  1903 

MY  DEAR  BIG  TOOK  :  i 
WHAT  a  goose  your  Pip 2  was  to  go  away  to 
Congress  and  leave  you  and  Mother  and  the 
horses  and  the  ponies  and  Vixen- Dog  and  all 
the  nice  things  at  home. 

Oh,  how  pleased  I  was  to  get  your  letter 
and  to  know  that  you  were  having  a  good 
time.  But,  Took,  you  don't  know  how  to  make 
a  kiss  in  a  letter.  You  make  it  like  this :  O ; 
but  it  should  be  like  this :  X.  I  will  show  you 
at  the  end  of  the  letter. 

Old  Pip  plays  squash,  and  rides  with 
Grandpa  and  walks  with  the  President  and 
that  is  all  the  fun  that  old  Pip  has.  The  rest 
of  the  time  he  runs  errands  for  his  constitu 
ents.  This  is  a  long  word,  and  it  means  all 
the  people  who  tell  Pip  how  much  they  helped 
him  to  get  elected. 

1  His  pet  name  for  his  daughter  Constance,  at  this  time 
nine  years  old. 

2  His  daughter's  name  for  him. 

[41   3 


LETTERS  OF  AUGUSTUS  P.  GARDNER 

Pip  made  a  speech  today  in  Congress ;  but 
no  one  listened.  After  he  got  through  all  the 
people  who  had  been  asleep  or  out  of  the  hall 
shook  hands  with  Pip  and  told  him  how  much 
they  enjoyed  it. 

Give  my  love  to  Jack  and  George  and  Peggy 
from  Paris  and  all  the  rest  of  your  children. 

Your  devoted  POPPER 

XXXXXXXX    Kisses. 

To  HON.  HENRY  CABOT  LODGE 

Hamilton,  Mass.,  Oct.  6,  1908 

DEAR  MR.  LODGE: 

I  ENCLOSE  you  herewith  a  copy  of  my  speech 
at  the  Convention  on  Saturday,  as  I  am  very 
anxious  to  have  you  criticise  it. 

In  spite  of  your  complimentary  remarks 
after  I  had  finished,  I  was  perfectly  conscious 
during  two  thirds  of  the  time  I  was  speaking 
that  I  did  not  succeed  in  arousing  my  audience 
at  all,  and  only  to  a  degree  did  it  seem  to  me 
that  I  was  successful  in  arresting  their  atten 
tion.  With  the  effect  of  the  last  part  of  the 

C  42  ] 


TO  HON.  HENRY  CABOT  LODGE 
speech  I  was  better  satisfied ;  but  not  entirely 
so.  The  applause  was  spontaneous  enough 
when  I  mentioned  the  names  of  the  various 
popular  figures ;  but  I  could  not  seem  to  work 
my  audience  up  to  the  pitch  of  applauding 
unreasoningly. 

All  this  is  somewhat  discouraging  to  one 
who  has  been  on  the  stump  so  long  as  I  have, 
and  I  have  made  up  my  mind  that  I  must  find 
out  just  what  is  wrong,  either  in  construction 
or  delivery,  before  I  can  hope  to  accomplish 
satisfactory  results.  That  oratory  can  be  re 
duced  to  certain  fixed  rules  is  perhaps  impos 
sible,  but  there  must  be  general  propositions 
which  experts  like  yourself  can  lay  down. 

I  do  not  believe  that  my  speech  lacked 
material  or  ideas,  although  of  course  I  may 
be  flattering  myself  in  that  regard.  Never 
theless,  I  am  quite  sure  that  I  have  seen  au 
diences  aroused  by  speeches  which  contained 
fewer  adroit  expressions. 

It  seems  to  me  that  the  trouble  must  lie  in 
the  construction  of  the  speech  or  in  its  de- 

43 


LETTERS  OF  AUGUSTUS  P.  GARDNER 
livery :  probably  in  both.  Constance,  for  in 
stance,  thinks  that  I  speak  too  slowly  and  that 
my  vibrating  gesture  with  my  upraised  right 
hand  is  a  great  mistake.  She  thinks  that  a  con 
versational  tone  maintained  throughout  my 
entire  argument  with  regard  to  the  rules  of 
the  House,  the  Tariff,  and  Labor  would  have 
been  much  more  effective. 

Another  criticism  which  Constance  offers 
is  that  my  speech  lacked  continuity  and  that 
I  jumped  from  one  subject  to  another  without 
interposing  any  definite  steps  to  break  the 
transition. 

I  should  appreciate  it  very  much,  indeed, 
if  you  would  read  the  speech  carefully  and  tell 
me  exactly  what  you  yourself  would  have 
done  had  you  been  in  my  place  and  had  you 
been  invited  to  construct  your  address  on  the 
exact  materials  which  I  used  in  the  construc 
tion  of  mine. 

Sincerely  yours 

A.  P.  GARDNER 

HON.  H.  C.  LODGE 
Nahanty  Mass. 

[44  3 


FROM  HON.  H.  C.  LODGE 

FROM  HON.  H.  C.  LODGE  TO  A.  P.  GARDNER 

Nahant,  Mass. 
October  8,  1908 

DEAR  Gus: 

I  HAVE  your  letter  of  the  6th.  I  read  the  draft 
of  your  speech  and  I  listened  to  every  word 
of  it.  Now  I  have  read  it  again  with  great 
care.  There  was  no  one  in  that  audience  ex 
cept  Constance  who  was  as  anxious  for  your 
success  as  I,  and  I  was,  therefore,  extremely 
sensitive  to  any  shortcomings.  What  I  said 
to  you  when  you  finished  was  not  complimen 
tary,  but  my  actual  impression,  and  I  have 
seen  no  reason  to  change  it.  All  that  I  heard 
and,  what  is  more  important,  overheard,  con 
firmed  my  own  opinion.  The  general  opinion 
was  and  is  that  your  speech  was  very  success 
ful,  and  about  the  manner  in  which  you  pre 
sided  and  handled  a  difficulty  which  does  not 
usually  arise  in  our  State  Conventions,  there 
are  not  and  cannot  be  two  opinions.  You  were 
a  first-rate  presiding  officer  and  everybody 
recognized  it.  I  think  you  expected  too  much. 

C  45  ] 


LETTERS  OF  AUGUSTUS  P.  GARDNER 

Your  careful  argument  about  Labor  and  the 
Tariff  was  not  calculated  to  bring  outbursts 
of  applause,  and  would  not  have  done  so  in 
anybody's  hands;  but  the  Convention  liked  it 
and  was  impressed  by  it,  and  it  was  the  sort 
of  serious  argument  that  ought  to  be  made  to 
a  convention.  I  do  not  think  anything  could 
have  been  better  done  than  the  way  in  which 
you  brought  out  Roosevelt  and  Taft,  and 
speaking  out  of  a  pretty  large  experience  I  do 
not  see  how  you  could  have  received  more 
hearty  applause  than  those  passages  received. 
It  is  little  to  say  that  your  speech  roused  the 
Convention  far  more  than  the  average  speech 
of  presiding  officers  at  our  conventions;  but 
you  ask  me  to  criticise  the  speech  and  de 
livery  and  make  any  suggestions  that  occur 
to  me. 

Since  reading  the  speech  again  and  giving  it 
the  most  careful  thought,  I  see  one  or  two 
places  that  I  did  not  notice  when  I  read  the 
draft,  or  when  you  delivered  it,  which  would 
be  improved  by  a  sentence  or  two  to  smooth 


FROM  HON.  H.  C.  LODGE 
the  transition  from  one  subject  to  another  and 
so  lead  your  hearers  to  the  new  subject  more 
easily  and  less  abruptly  than  is  now  the  case. 
As  for  the  speech  itself  I  see  no  other  sugges 
tion  to  make. 

Now  as  to  the  delivery.  It  struck  me  that  in 
transacting  the  business  of  the  Convention  you 
pitched  your  voice  a  little  too  high.  The  high 
pitch  and  not  the  loud  shout  is  the  secret  of 
making  people  hear ;  but  you  tended  to  make 
it  too  high  with  the  consequent  risk  of  break 
ing  your  voice.  You  also  put  the  motions  and 
votes  a  little  too  rapidly.  A  slight  pause  in  ask 
ing  for  the  ayes  and  noes  and  before  announc 
ing  the  result  makes  the  process  more  effective 
and  business-like.  You  can  hardly  employ  the 
conversational  tone  too  much,  as  I  remember 
hearing  Wendell  Phillips  say  when  I  was  a 
young  man ;  but  you  must  preserve  the  high 
pitch  even  then  to  make  yourself  heard.  I 
think  a  larger  use  of  the  conversational  tone 
would  have  improved  the  delivery  of  your 
speech  and  made  the  early  parts  more  effec- 


LETTERS  OF  AUGUSTUS  P.  GARDNER 
tive.  I  have  no  faith  in  the  hot-air  business. 
Everybody  indulges  in  a  certain  amount  of  it, 
and  in  an  ordinary  stump  speech  it  is  allow 
able  ;  but  in  a  Convention  speech  it  is  out  of 
place  and  the  audience  does  not  really  like  it, 
especially  from  the  public  men  who  represent 
them.  You  have  every  reason  to  be  greatly 
pleased  with  your  success  on  Saturday.  I  have 
a  strong  impression  that  it  was  a  much  better 
speech  and  much  more  enthusiastically  re 
ceived  than  the  one  I  delivered  in  '91  when  I 
was  about  your  age  and  which  at  the  time 
seemed  very  successful. 

Always  yours 

H.  C.  LODGE 


To  His  DAUGHTER 

Washington,  D.C. 

July  22,  1909 

DEAREST  OF  TOOKS  : 

THANK  you  ever  so  much  for  your  letter.  It 
was  very  well  expressed,  interesting  and 
neatly  written."  How  you  have  improved ! 

[  48  ] 


TO  PROFESSOR  HUGO  MUNSTERBERG 

Since  last  I  wrote  to  Mother  I  have  at 
last,  after  several  attempts,  seen  the  Wrights 
fly  in  their  flying  machine.  Yesterday  I  went 
out  to  Fort  Myer  with  Mr.  George  Howard 
and  there  I  examined  the  machine  carefully, 
drew  a  long  face,  asked  questions  in  a  solemn 
tone  of  voice,  and  pretended  I  understood  the 
answers. 

Orville  Wright  worked  the  bird.  Occasion 
ally  it  would  pass  directly  overhead  and  I 
could  see  that  he  wore  white  socks.  The  most 
wonderful  part  is  to  see  how  skillfully  he 
brings  it  down  so  as  not  to  break  it. 

I  note  what  you  say  about  Arctic  weather 
in  Hamilton.  It  has  been  cool  in  spots  here, 
but  I  have  not  needed  my  fur  tippet  or  muff. 

To  PROFESSOR  HUGO  MUNSTERBERG 

Hamilton,  Massachusetts 

October  15,  1909 

MY  DEAR  PROFESSOR  MUNSTERBERG  : 
You,  I  hope,  will  excuse  a  Harvard  graduate 
personally  unknown  to  you  for  expressing 

[  49   ] 


LETTERS  OF  AUGUSTUS  P.  GARDNER 
certain  comments  on  your   article  entitled 
"The  Standing  of  Scholarship  in  America." 

It  may  be,  as  you  say,  that  a  philosophical 
revolution  in  the  United  States  must  precede 
a  restoration  of  scholarship  to  its  proper  stand 
ing,  or  rather  to  that  which  you  and  I  believe 
to  be  its  proper  standing.  If  so,  Harvard  her 
self  should  lose  no  time  in  reversing  her  course 
and  shouldering  the  loss  inevitable  to  the  pio 
neer  who  blazes  a  new  track  opposed  in  direc 
tion  to  the  spirit  of  the  age. 

You  will  observe  in  the  preceding  sentence 
that  I  use  the  word  "restoration/'  as  I  am 
quite  old  enough  to  remember  that  in  my  boy 
hood  the  American  scholar  (who,  by  the  way, 
was  the  pedagogue  then  as  now)  held  a  much 
higher  relative  place  in  public  esteem.  That 
we  were  less  than  now  a  positivist  people 
thirty  years  ago,  I  think  extremely  doubtful. 
Perhaps,  however,  our  positivism  held  no  such 
universal  sway  in  those  days  of  incomplete 
democracy. 

However,  my  object  in  writing  to  you  is 

C  50  ] 


TO  PROFESSOR  HUGO  MUNSTERBERG 
not  to  philosophize,  but  rather  to  present  my 
own  experience  as  an  illustration  of  that  which 
I  believe  to  be  a  practical  result  of  an  unlim 
ited  Elective  System. 

Well  on  in  life  my  reverence  for  scholar 
ship  has  been  acquired  by  close  family  associ 
ation  with  scholars.  Harvard  College  forbade 
me  such  reverence  as  I  should  naturally  have 
felt.  At  Harvard,  after  my  Freshman  year,  I 
was  taught  to  select  my  courses,  not  with  a 
view  to  becoming  a  cultivated  gentleman,  but 
rather  for  their  future  utility  or  else  for  the 
purpose  of  securing  a  Bachelor's  degree  by  a 
minimum  of  effort.  Perhaps  it  is  not  fair  to 
say  that  I  was  taught  to  exercise  my  choice 
from  any  such  point  of  view.  Perhaps,  al 
though  I  have  forgotten  it,  the  advice  given 
me  may  have  been  exactly  opposite.  Does 
mere  advice  prevent  the  generality  of  man 
kind  from  following  the  line  of  least  resist 
ance,  if  inviting  opportunity  is  simultaneously 
presented  ? 

At  all  events,  inasmuch  as  my  intentions 

c  51  n 


LETTERS  OF  AUGUSTUS  P.  GARDNER 

were  generally  better  than  my  performances, 
I  resisted  the  temptation  of  easy  courses,  se 
lecting  for  the  most  part  History  and  Political 
Economy  as  subjects  to  be  studied  with  a  mor 
tifying  lack  of  diligence.  At  the  time  I  had  a 
vague  intention  of  fitting  myself  for  the  politi 
cal  life  which,  after  a  long  interval,  I  ultimately 
adopted. 

In  a  sense,  then,  the  Elective  System  was 
useful  to  me,  but  is  my  case  typical  ?  How 
many  boys  of  eighteen  accurately  predict  their 
future  occupation  ? 

But  let  us  see  what  I  lost  by  the  Elective 
System.  Notably,  I  failed  to  get  the  founda 
tion  of  a  liberal  education.  Attaining  no  trace 
of  scholarship  myself,  by  no  possibility  could 
I  learn  to  value  justly  those  who  had  attained 
scholarship  in  a  high  degree.  My  conception 
of  a  great  scholar  of  necessity  pictured  the  man 
who  could  impart  to  me  the  greatest  amount 
of  useful  knowledge.  The  fact  that  I  did  not 
have  the  industry  to  take  all  that  was  offered 
me  in  no  way  altered  my  conception. 


TO  PROFESSOR  HUGO  MUNSTERBERG 

If  Harvard  had  started  me  on  the  right 
road,  I  might  today  be  a  fair  scholar.  I  cer 
tainly  should  be  more  understandingly  appre 
ciative  of  scholarship.  Even  now,  at  times  I 
find  difficulty  in  regarding  it  as  more  than  a 
mere  elegance. 

My  father-in-law,  Senator  Lodge,  was  edu 
cated  at  Harvard  under  a  prescribed  system. 
Today,  he  is  a  scholar.  He  reads  to  improve 
and  exercise  his  mind  and  to  develop  his 
scholarship.  I,  on  the  other  hand,  read  either 
for  diversion  or  to  attain  a  definite  result.  I 
read  Gibbon  or  Grote  not  for  cultivation,  but 
solely  to  learn  from  history  the  art  of  gov 
ernment.  I  read  Shakespeare's  plays  not  for 
the  pleasure  they  give  me,  but  because  I 
know  that  Abraham  Lincoln  found  them  of 
immense  assistance  in  extending  his  vocabu 
lary  and  developing  his  power  of  expression. 

The  difference  of  mental  equipment  be 
tween  my  father-in-law  and  me  may  account 
for  much  of  the  difference  between  our  men 
tal  attributes  today,  but  I  am  convinced  that 

t:  53  3 


LETTERS  OF  AUGUSTUS  P.  GARDNER 
the  Elective  System  at  Harvard  is  in  part 
responsible.  Lodge  was  a  twig  bent  in  a 
scholarly  direction.  I  was  a  twig  bent  in  the 
direction  of  utility.  He  spontaneously  respects 
and  appreciates  the  scholar.  I  do  so  only  as 
the  result  of  mental  compulsion. 

If  I  am  a  fair  example  of  the  man  whose 
education  does  not  end  at  the  desk  of  a  count 
ing-house,  at  once  there  appears  at  least  one 
weighty  cause  for  the  retrogression  of  Amer 
ican  scholarship  in  the  esteem  of  the  bacca 
laureate  public.  By  what  miracle  may  the 
Bachelor  learn  reverence  for  that  of  which  he 
is  scarcely  taught  the  existence  ? 

While  I  am  perfectly  well  aware  of  the 
objections  to  a  rigid  curriculum,  I  believe  it 
to  attain  better  results  than  our  present  un 
limited  Elective  System  with  its  utilitarian 
aims.  Of  course,  that  system  is  only  one  of 
the  manifestations  of  our  idolatry  of  purely 
practical  knowledge  or,  as  Chapman  might 
perhaps  express  it,  knowledge  administered 
in  selected  capsules. 

I  54  3 


TO  PROFESSOR  HUGO  MUNSTERBERG 
State-supported  universities  cannot  be  pio 
neers  in  stemming  the  utilitarian  tide,  for  the 
citizens  would  not  permit  it.  The  newer  univer 
sities  will  not  slacken  in  their  race  for  numerical 
superiority,  because  they  have  no  traditions 
nor  history  to  fall  back  upon  as  compensation 
in  the  public  eye  for  their  tarnished  totals. 

Why  should  Harvard  make  the  sacrifice, 
even  if  it  were  proved  that  sacrifice  should 
be  made  ?  Perchance  because  sacrifice  is  no 
stranger  to  the  Harvard  ideal.  Perchance  be 
cause  Harvard  can  lead  where  others  can  but 
follow.  We  graduates  believe  that  the  most 
honorable  position  in  a  pilgrimage  is  held  by 
the  leading  chariot,  regardless  of  the  number 
of  its  occupants.  Many  of  us  are  sure  that 
this  country,  even  in  these  days  of  material 
ism,  presents  a  broad  field  for  a  seat  of  learn 
ing  based  on  quite  another  doctrine.  To  me, 
whose  every  day  is  devoted  to  materialistic 
considerations  often  of  the  least  attractive 
kind,  the  hope  that  Harvard  will  lead  in  a 
new  direction  is  especially  enticing. 

[  55  3 


LETTERS  OF  AUGUSTUS  P.  GARDNER 
If  such  a  movement  shall  be  begun,  the 
opposition   of  our   own   graduates   will    be 
strong,  perhaps  insurmountable,  for  men  are 
but  too  prone  to  measure  the  eminence  of  a 
college  by  the  bulk  of  its  catalogue. 
Very  truly  yours 

A.  P.  GARDNER 


To  E.  E.  GAYLORD, 
Personal  and  Confidential.  January  11,  191O 

MY  DEAR  MR.  GAYLORD: 
I  AM  in  receipt  of  your  two  letters  of  Jan 
uary  7  and  8.  Things  have  moved  a  little 
faster  than  I  expected,  largely  for  the  reason 
that  the  Speaker's  friends  continued  their  at 
tack  on  the  Insurgents.  I  have  abandoned  all 
hope  of  a  policy  of  holding  the  door  open  so 
that  Mr.  Cannon  could  withdraw  gracefully. 
It  is  absolutely  impossible  now  that  the  fight 
is  on  again. 

My  absence  at  the  time  the  vote  was 
taken  the  other  day  was  owing  to  the  fact 
that  the  Norris  Amendment  was  not  con- 

C  56  3 


TO  E.  E.  GAYLORD,  ESQ. 
templated  beforehand.  Otherwise,  I  should 
have  been  notified  and  should  have  come  to 
the  Capitol,  although  I  had  not  been  out  of 
the  house  for  several  days  owing  to  my 
lumbago. 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  I  told  Norris  some 
time  ago  that  he  could  depend  upon  me  to 
support  him  by  my  vote  in  matters  of  the 
Rules  at  any  time  he  notified  me,  although, 
for  reasons  which  he  fully  understood,  I  per 
sonally  would  prefer  a  truce  for  the  present. 
Norris  tells  me  that  he  would  have  notified 
me  in  time  for  the  vote  had  it  not  been  that 
he  supposed  that  I  was  out  of  the  city. 

Now  with  regard  to  matters  pertaining  to 
President  Taft :  I  see  from  your  letters  that 
you  are  inclined  to  suspend  judgment  and 
are  awaiting  developments. 

( i )  With  regard  to  the  question  of  with 
holding  patronage  from  Insurgents  because 
they  are  opposing  Cannon:  Personally,  I 
very  much  doubt  the  fact  for  various  rea 
sons.  The  first  Congressman  who  came  out 

C  57  3 


LETTERS  OF  AUGUSTUS  P.  GARDNER 

with  this  accusation  was  Congressman  Miller 
of  Minnesota.  Miller  defeated  Congressman 
Bede  for  renomination  in  a  campaign  whose 
principal  feature  was  Miller's  claim  that 
Bede  was  a  hide-bound  Cannon  man.  Just  be 
fore  the  new  Congress  opened  in  March 
last,  Miller  arrived  in  Washington,  and  if  I 
recollect  rightly,  attended  one  meeting  of 
the  Insurgents  and  then  withdrew.  He  voted 
with  the  Speaker's  friends  on  every  vote 
at  the  organization  of  Congress.  Now,  as 
a  matter  of  fact,  Bede  was  by  no  means  a 
hide-bound  Cannon  man,  and  it  is  only  nat 
ural  that  he  should  oppose  Miller  for  re- 
nomination  this  summer.  About  ten  days 
ago  Bede  came  out  with  a  statement  calling 
attention  to  Miller's  inconsistency,  and  I  am 
of  the  opinion  that  Miller's  claim  as  to  pat 
ronage  is  his  method  of  replying.  Obviously, 
Mr.  Taft  is  not  punishing  Miller  because  he 
opposed  the  Cannon  regime,  inasmuch  as 
Miller  supported  the  Cannon  regime.  Now 
I  will  tell  you  some  additional  facts  which 

C  58   3 


TO  E.  E.  GAYLORD,  ESQ. 
are  not  for  publication.  We  had  a  meeting 
of  the  Insurgents  last  night  at  which  twenty 
men  were  present.  A  show  of  hands  was 
called  for  to  find  out  which  Insurgents  had 
had  trouble  with  their  patronage.  Four  hands 
went  up,  to  wit:  —  Gary,  Lenroot,1  Norris,2 
and  Miller.  Lenroot  had  had  trouble  about  a 
census  supervisor;  Norris  had  had  trouble 
about  a  postmaster;  and  neither  Gary  nor 
Miller  specified  anything.  Now  I  have  the 
very  highest  confidence  in  Norris,  and  I  am 
convinced  that  he  thinks  that  his  insurgency 
is  the  cause  of  his  trouble.  Personally,  I  sus 
pect  that  one  of  his  Senators  has  put  a  finger 
in  the  pie,  which,  after  all,  a  Senator  has  a 
perfect  right  to  do  inasmuch  as  the  Constitu 
tion  gives  Senators  a  say  in  the  appointment 
of  officials.  There  may  also  be  some  such 
explanation  in  the  Lenroot  case;  in  fact, 
from  time  to  time  all  Congressmen  have 
trouble  with  their  recommendations. 

1  Now  Senator  from  Wisconsin  (1919) 

2  Now  Senator  from  Nebraska  (1919). 

C  59  3 


LETTERS  OF  AUGUSTUS  P.  GARDNER 

If  there  is  any  truth  in  the  report  about 
patronage,  it  is  certainly  a  singular  fact  that 
Murdock,  Hayes,  and  Davis,  who  are  as  active 
Insurgents  as  anybody,  have  had  no  trouble 
whatsoever. 

( 2 )  Now  as  to  the  Ballinger-Pinchot  con 
troversy:  Let  me  first  state  my  own  views. 
Pinchot's  family  are  very  intimate  with  my 
family  and  my  prejudice  is  entirely  in  favor 
of  Pinchot.  Further  than  that,  my  father-in- 
law  and  my  wife  have  always  been  enthusi 
astic  admirers  of  the  Ex-Chief  Forester,  and 
not  over  three  weeks  ago  we  three  had  a 
violent  argument  in  which  I  was  opposed  by 
both  my  wife  and  father-in-law,  when  I  ex 
pressed  a  doubt  as  to  Pinchot's  good  judgment. 

Now,  if  I  had  been  in  Pinchot's  place  and 
had  believed  as  Pinchot  did  that  beyond  per- 
adventure  of  a  doubt  Ballinger  was  mixed  up 
in  rascality,  I  should  have  considered  it  my 
duty  to  expose  it.  (At  least,  I  hope  I  should 
have  had  the  courage  to  expose  it. )  Up  to  that 
point  I  coincide  with  Pinchot.  Now,  Pinchot 

c  6°i 


TO  E.  E.  GAYLORD,  ESQ. 
is  a  man  of  large  property  with  no  family  to 
support,  and,  therefore,  he  had  no  one  whom 
he  was  bound  to  consider  before  offering  his 
resignation.  It  seems  to  me  that  if  I  had  been 
in  his  place  and  had  felt  as  he  did,  I  should 
have  offered  my  resignation,  relieved  myself 
of  disloyalty  to  my  Chief,  and  then  made  my 
accusations. 

I  am  quite  sure  that  had  Roosevelt  been  in 
Taft's  place  he  would  have  done  precisely 
what  Taft  did,  except  that  he  would  not  have 
called  for  a  Cabinet  meeting  before  taking 
action. 

Now,  with  regard  to  Ballinger :  The  Presi 
dent  was  furnished  with  the  Glavis  charges 
and  with  Ballinger' s  defense.  His  findings 
were  in  Ballinger's  favor.  So  far,  so  good. 
Until  you  and  I  hear  both  sides,  we  must  not 
undertake  to  say  whether  or  not  we  approve 
the  President's  conclusions. 

Mr.  Hitchcock  J  of  Nebraska  in  a  speech  in 
the  House  the  other  day  stated  the  counts  in 

1  Now  Senior  Senator  from  Nebraska  (1919). 

tei  3 


LETTERS  OF  AUGUSTUS  P.  GARDNER 
his  indictment  of  Ballinger.  If  the  allegations 
which  were  made  are  proved  to  be  true,  it  will 
be  hard  to  escape  the  conclusion  that  Ballin- 
ger's  code  of  ethics  is  such  as  should  preclude 
him  from  a  seat  in  the  Cabinet.  I  sincerely 
hope  that  Ballinger' s  defense  will  be  unassail 
able;  but  I  am  trying  to  avoid  prejudice  un 
til  I  hear  the  facts. 

I  am  perfectly  satisfied  that  there  will  be 
a  proper  committee  of  investigation  which  will 
bring  the  facts  before  the  public.  I  confess, 
however,  that  I  dread  the  combat.  On  the  one 
hand,  there  will  be  lawyers  trying  to  assail 
Ballinger  and  Taft  for  the  sake  of  political 
capital,  and  on  the  other  hand  other  lawyers 
who  will  try  to  defend  Ballinger  by  attack 
ing  Glavis.  Out  of  all  the  mess  and  dirt, 
however,  I  feel  confident  that  the  facts  will 
come  out  in  such  a  shape  that  intelligent  men 
can  understand  them.  I  probably  shall  not 
write  you  at  length  again  for  some  time  to 
come  inasmuch  as  I  am  pretty  busy.  It  is  a 
delight  to  me,  however,  to  write  you  letters 

c 62 : 


TO  HIS  WIFE 

expressing  my  views  for  two  reasons : — First, 
I  know  that  you  are  courteous  to  read  them 
carefully ;  and  secondly,  because  in  the  course 
of  time  I  shall  read  my  retained  copies  over 
and  probably  come  to  the  conclusion  that  I 
have  written  a  lot  of  nonsense ! 
Sincerely  yours 

A.  P.  GARDNER 

To  His  WIFE 

Aiken,  S.C.,  April  14,  1910 

You  ask  me  whether  I  think  that  Socialism  is 
an  imminent  danger.  Socialistic  legislation  is 
not  only  an  imminent  danger;  but  the  whole 
world  is  passing  it  daily.  In  other  words,  the 
functions  of  government  and  government  un 
dertakings  are  rapidly  being  increased  with 
an  ever-increasing  expenditure  of  money. 
This  money  ultimately  must  be  taken  ( from 
those  who  have  money)  in  the  form  of  taxa 
tion.  When  capital  has  been  seriously  im 
paired  by  taxation,  the  process  will  be  checked. 
Meanwhile,  I  believe  that  many  people  will 


LETTERS  OF  AUGUSTUS  P.  GARDNER 
be  ruined.  It  is  no  more  sound  for  a  nation  to 
live  on  its  capital  than  for  an  individual.  So 
cialism,  as  a  complete  system,  will  in  my 
opinion  never  be  attained  for  the  reason  that 
a  cataclysm  will  intervene  before  it  can  be  in 
stalled.  It  makes  no  difference  whether  the 
purpose  is  to  install  it  by  degrees  or  suddenly. 
If  by  any  chance  a  complete  socialistic  state 
could  be  installed  by  revolution,  I  doubt 
whether  it  would  last  any  longer  than  the 
Ateliers  Nationaux  of  1848. 

Public  schools  are  socialistic,  a  post-office 
department  conducted  at  a  loss  is  socialistic, 
a  highway  system  is  often  socialistic.  I  think 
the  future  will  add  many  more  forms  of  social 
ism  until  the  last  straw  breaks  the  camel's 
back  and  then  the  world's  pendulum  will 
swing  the  other  way. 

As  nearly  as  I  can  do  so  I  have  answered 
your  question  about  the  imminence  of  social 
ism.  I  realize,  however,  that  I  have  not  made 
myself  very  plain. 


TO  E.  H.  ABBOTT,  ESQ. 

To  E.  H.  ABBOTT,  ESQ.,  OF  THE  OUTLOOK 

February  6,  1912 

MY  DEAR  MR.  ABBOTT  : 
ON  January  10,  1911,  you  wrote  me  asking 
certain  questions  about  the  attitude  of  the 
Democratic  Party  towards  parliamentary  lib 
erty.  At  that  time  I  wrote  you  a  somewhat 
long  letter  in  which  I  expressed  my  own 
assurance  that  there  was  no  desire  on  the 
part  of  that  party  to  take  any  backward  step 
in  regard  to  the  Rules.  I  am  now  inclined  to 
revise  that  opinion.  Under  another  cover  I  am 
sending  you  a  copy  of  the  report  of  the  pro 
ceedings  of  the  House  on  February  3,  1912. 
The  step  taken  in  amending  Rule  27,  Clause  4, 
seems  to  me  to  be  a  deliberate  backward  step. 
While  I  admit  that  there  is  some  force  in 
the  position  taken  by  Mr.  Garrett l  and  Mr. 
Underwood,2  that  opportunities  for  motions  to 

1  Hon.  F.  J.  Garrett,  Member  of  Congress  from  Ten 
nessee. 

2  Hon.  Oscar  Underwood,  now   Senator  from  Ala 
bama  (1919). 

C  65  3 


LETTERS  OF  AUGUSTUS  P.  GARDNER 
suspend  the  rules  had  been  blocked,  for  all 
that  I  deny  that  the  fact  had  as  yet  been  dem 
onstrated.  At  all  events,  the  proposed  change 
seems  to  me  to  be  worse  than  the  situation 
which  Mr.  Garrett  and  Mr.  Underwood  allege 
to  exist.  This  proposed  change  should  never 
have  been  put  through  under  the  operation  of 
the  previous  question  prohibiting  amendment. 
To  put  the  matter  as  concisely  as  I  can,  the 
facts  are  as  follows :  On  June  1 7, 1 9 1  o,  a  Rule 
was  adopted  providing  a  Calendar  on  which 
members  might  register  motions  to  discharge 
committees  from  further  consideration  of  bills 
which  had  not  been  reported.  This  was  known 
as  the  Discharge  Calendar.  Its  purpose  was  to 
provide  some  means  by  which  a  Bill  could  be 
got  out  of  Committee  if  that  Committee  hap 
pened  not  to  represent  the  will  of  the  majority 
of  the  House.  Up  to  that  time  the  only  way  to 
discharge  a  committee  was  under  the  motion 
to  suspend  the  rules,  which  could  be  made  on 
the  first  and  third  Mondays  in  every  month 
and  at  no  other  time.  This  motion  to  suspend 
166  3 


TO  E.  H.  ABBOTT,  ESQ. 
the  rules  required  a  two-thirds  vote  to  carry  it, 
but  under  the  suspension  rule  it  is  optional  with 
the  Speaker  whether  or  not  he  shall  recognize 
the  member  who  desires  to  make  the  motion. 
It  is  also  true  that  the  motion  to  suspend  the 
rules  is  used  for  many  other  purposes  beyond 
that  of  discharging  committees,  and  to  that 
extent  there  is  force  in  Mr.  Underwood's  and 
Mr.  Garrett's  position. 

On  the  earliest  day  possible  in  the  present 
Congress  a  very  large  number  of  motions  to 
discharge  were  filed.  Some  of  these  motions 
were  unquestionably  filed  by  collusion  in  order 
to  block  the  Calendar  as  much  as  possible. 
Others  were  filed  by  members  who  wished  to 
display  unusual  activity  in  behalf  of  the  meas 
ure  which  they  might  favor.  Others  were  filed 
as  a  precaution  in  case  the  Committee  should 
prove  recalcitrant.  For  instance,  I  myself  filed 
a  motion  to  discharge  the  Committee  on  Im 
migration  and  Naturalization  from  the  consid 
eration  of  the  Bill  providing  an  educational  test 
for  immigrants.  I  had  no  desire  whatever  to 


LETTERS  OF  AUGUSTUS  P.  GARDNER 
bring  this  motion  up  until  it  should  become 
evident   that   the   Committee  on  Immigra 
tion  and  Naturalization  intended  deliberate 
delay. 

Under  the  rule  as  adopted  June  17,  1910, 
on  the  first  and  third  Mondays  in  each  month 
motions  to  discharge  Committees  could  be 
called  up  from  the  Discharge  Calendar.  It 
was  also  decided  that  these  motions  should 
have  precedence  over  motions  to  suspend  the 
rules.  I  am  perfectly  willing  to  admit  that 
this  Discharge  Calendar  has  not  been  alto 
gether  successful;  but  in  my  opinion  the 
blame  rests  very  largely  with  the  Democrats, 
who  have  invariably  refused  to  permit  a  sec 
ond  to  the  motion  to  discharge. 

I  am  perfectly  willing  to  admit  that  some 
device  was  necessary  by  which  on  very  rare 
occasions  the  motion  to  suspend  the  rules 
should  have  precedence  over  the  Discharge 
Calendar.  If  the  previous  question  had  not 
been  ordered,  I  myself  should  have  introduced 
an  amendment  taking  away  from  the  Speaker 
[68  3 


TO  E.  H.  ABBOTT,  ESQ, 
the  arbitrary  right  to  refuse  recognition  on 
the  motion  to  suspend.  Various  other  amend 
ments  would  have  been  offered  without  a 
doubt  and  we  might  have  arrived  at  some 
intelligent  result.  As  the  situation  is  now, 
we  have  squarely  reverted  in  this  partic 
ular  branch  of  the  Rules  to  the  position  in 
which  we  found  ourselves  prior  to  June  1 7, 
1910. 

Of  course,  in  many  other  respects  the 
Rules  are  a  very  great  improvement  over  the 
old  Rules ;  but  in  this  particular  matter  there 
is  a  serious  falling-off.  Personally,  I  believe 
that  the  right  of  the  House  to  discharge  a 
Committee  is  of  infinitely  more  importance 
than  the  question  as  to  who  ought  to  appoint 
the  Committees.  During  the  Insurgent  move 
ment  for  a  change  in  the  Rules  I  always 
voted  in  Insurgent  meetings  against  taking 
from  the  Speaker  the  right  to  appoint  Com 
mittees.  However,  as  a  majority  of  those 
engaged  in  the  movement  overruled  me,  I 
always  supported  this  change  on  the  floor  of 

169  3 


LETTERS  OF  AUGUSTUS  P.  GARDNER 
the  House.  It  has  always  seemed  to  me  that 
the  two  great  essentials  in  which  the  Rules 
were  wrong  were  these : 

First.  That  there  was  not  time  set  apart 
for  the  consideration  of  Bills  on  the  Calendar 
which  were  not  "  privileged."  This  situation 
has  been  very  well  taken  care  of  by  "  Calen 
dar  Wednesday." 

Second.  That  there  was  no  way  to  get 
on  the  Calendar  any  Bill  of  which  the 
Committee  having  jurisdiction  might  disap 
prove. 

I  believe  that  the  Discharge  Calendar  Rule 
with  some  amendments  would  have  gone 
a  long  way  towards  remedying  this  defect. 
It  would  not  have  remedied  it  absolutely, 
because  there  is  really  no  way  in  which 
you  can  make  a  majority  of  the  House  do 
something  which  they  do  not  desire  to  do. 
Uncomfortable  issues  can  be  avoided  by 
adjournment  and  by  many  other  devices. 
Nevertheless,  if  the  Rule  were  to  be  given 
a  fair  chance  I  am  inclined  to  think  that 


TO  E.  H.  ABBOTT,  ESQ. 
it  would  become  effective  when  a  majority 
of  the  House  at  heart  wishes  to  consider  a 
Bill 

In  the  debate  on  Saturday,  Mr.  Norris's 
statement  of  the  situation  is  in  my  opinion  abso 
lutely  correct.  Mr.  Lenroot's  statement  I  do 
not  entirely  agree  with.  I  am  in  especial  doubt 
as  to  the  soundness  of  the  remedy  which  he 
suggests. 

To  my  mind  there  is  nothing  in  Mr.  Un 
derwood's  contention  that  44  motions  were 
filed  on  the  earliest  possible  date.  Take  my 
own  motion,  for  instance.  I  knew  perfectly 
well  that  the  Discharge  Calendar  would  be 
crowded  and  that  if  I  were  to  wait  until  later 
in  the  session  before  making  my  motion  to 
discharge,  I  should  run  the  risk  of  having  that 
motion  never  reached  during  the  life  of  the 
Congress.  There  is  nothing  in  Mr.  Under 
wood's  contention  with  regard  to  pension  bills. 
If  I  recollect  rightly,  only  a  few  of  the  dis 
charge  motions  referred  to  pension  legisla 
tion.  Mr.  Underwood  could  have  had  these 

C  71   3 


LETTERS  OF  AUGUSTUS  P.  GARDNER 
motions  removed  by  unanimous  consent  just 
as  well  as  any  one  else.    , 

Today  has  been  the  first  day  for  the  opera 
tion  of  the  new  Rule  adopted  on  Saturday. 
There  will  not  be  another  Suspension  Day 
for  two  weeks.  In  my  opinion  the  cat  was 
let  out  of  the  bag  today.  The  only  motion  to 
suspend  the  rules  was  made  by  Mr.  Slayden 
of  Texas  for  the  purpose  of  passing  the  Anti- 
Third-Term  Resolution.  When  the  House 
refused  consideration  of  this  Resolution,  ad 
journment  was  immediately  moved  and  carried 
on  a  strictly  party  vote.  It  seems  to  me  clearly 
that  the  purpose  for  which  the  rules  were 
changed  on  Saturday  was  in  order  to  admit 
Mr.  Slay  den's  Resolution  today.  Of  course,  I 
do  not  mean  that  this  was  the  only  reason 
why  the  Democrats  .desired  the  change ;  but 
I  think  it  is  the  reason  why  they  desired  it  at 
this  particular  juncture  instead  of  a  little  later. 
Very  truly  yours 

A.  P.  GARDNER 


TO  HON.  ROBERT  M.  WASHBURN 

To  HON.  ROBERT  M.  WASHBURN 

Hamilton,  Mass. 

December  3O,  1912 

MY  DEAR  MR.  WASHBURN  : 
I  HAVE  read  in  the  columns  of  the  daily  press 
your  questions  as  to  my  attitude  on  the  Sen 
atorial  situation. 

You  ask  me  whether  I  should  advise  Cur 
tis  Guild  to  accept  an  election  to  the  United 
States  Senate  secured  for  him  by  a  coalition 
between  the  Democratic  legislators  and  a  mi 
nority  of  the  Republican  legislators.  Yes, 
dear  friend,  yes.  I  should  advise  him  to  hold 
his  pocket  handkerchief  before  his  streaming 
eyes,  avert  his  gaze,  and  then  extend  a  re 
lentless  grasp  for  the  unhallowed  thing. 

As  a  former  affiliated  member  in  dubious 
standing  of  the  Inter-State  Union  of  Steam 
Roller  Engineers,  I  am  going  to  take  the  lib 
erty  to  explain  to  you  just  how  a  Senatorial 
caucus  works.  There  are  forty-six  more 
Republicans  than  there  are  Democrats  and 
Progressives  combined  in  the  incoming  Mas- 

H   73  3 


LETTERS  OF  AUGUSTUS  P.  GARDNER 
sachusetts  Legislature,  which  is  to  elect  a 
United  States  Senator.  In  other  words,  the 
Republicans  have  a  majority  of  forty-six.  If 
all,  or  most  of  these  Republican  legislators 
can  be  induced  to  meet  together,  that  meet 
ing  will  be  what  is  known  as  a  conference 
or  a  caucus.  If  in  one  way  or  another  it  can 
be  made  to  appear  that  party  loyalty  requires 
each  one  of  the  gentlemen  present  at  that 
meeting  to  abide  by  the  will  of  the  majority, 
there  you  have  the  caucus  in  its  perfection. 
In  other  words,  by  this  simple  device  a  ma 
jority  of  a  majority  can  select  a  United  States 
Senator.  Every  Republican  who  wishes  to  be 
considered  "  regular ' '  will  abide  by  the  caucus 
decision. 

Moreover,  as  you  know,  many  men  have 
been  elected  to  the  next  Legislature  whose 
constituents  are  by  no  means  enthusiastic 
about  the  dear  old  guard.  Yet  these  very 
same  men  desire  to  stand  well  with  the  lead 
ers.  What  more  obvious  step  for  them  than 
to  fall  in  with  the  plan  for  a  caucus?  In 

:  ^  n 


TO  HON.  ROBERT  M.  WASHBURN 
the  caucus  they  can  earnestly  support  some 
liberal  candidate  and  then,  accepting  defeat 
gracefully,  yield  to  the  will  of  the  majority. 
Thus  they  will  satisfy  both  sides. 

The  fact  is,  Mr.  Washburn,  that  the  pro 
posed  caucus  is  a  device  for  casting  a  repre 
sentative's  vote  where  his  constituency  does 
not  wish  it  to  go.  To  function  properly  this 
ingenious  piece  of  mechanism  requires  the 
Representative's  cooperation  in  the  first  in 
stance,  but  no  longer.  In  other  words,  the 
Representative  must  voluntarily  permit  him 
self  to  be  led  into  the  caucus  chamber.  After 
he  has  once  taken  the  veil  of  party  regular 
ity,  he  is  no  longer  permitted  to  communi 
cate  with  outsiders,  and  he  soon  discovers 
that  only  reprehensible  and  suspicious  charac 
ters  ever  emerge  from  a  caucus  which  they 
have  once  entered.  After  all,  I  agree  with 
that  view.  If  I  consent  to  attend  one  of  these 
political  seances,  even  conditionally,  I  feel 
somewhat  bound  not  to  throttle  the  medium 
just  because  the  manifestations  do  not  happen 

c  75  3 


LETTERS  OF  AUGUSTUS  P.  GARDNER 
to  be  to  my  taste.  Senators  and  Representa 
tives  will  be  tolled  into  the  coming  gathering 
by  some  bellman  chanting  melodiously  of 
a  two-thirds  rule  to  protect  us  all  from  a 
machine  nomination.  Stuff  your  ears  with 
cotton  wool.  There  is  not  going  to  be  any 
two-thirds  rule  unless  it  looks  like  a  runaway 
race  for  the  Weeks  and  Draper  stable. 

There  is  nothing  inherently  vicious  about 
caucuses;  but  don't  go  anywhere  near  this 
coming  one  unless  you  wish  to  make  Weeks 
or  Draper  (probably  Weeks)  the  next  Sen 
ator. 

The  machine  is  headed  that  way  and  it  is 
not  oiled  for  any  other  kind  of  a  trip.  If  you 
don't  believe  me,  try  to  steer  it  in  the  direc 
tion  of  Guild  and  then  listen  to  it  wheeze. 
Why,  Mr.  Washburn,  you  are  said  to  be  of 
Senatorial  calibre  yourself.  Yet,  the  roller 
would  burst  an  indignant  boiler  over  your 
erratic  youthfulness  if  any  one  were  heard 
to  breathe  your  candidacy  at  Republican 
headquarters. 

C  76  3 


TO  HON.  ROBERT  M.  WASHBURN 
The  fact  is  that  it  is  about  time  to  relegate 
this  wheezy  old  contraption  to  the  scrap- 
heap.  Wine  may  be  better  the  older  it  gets. 
"Vintage"  wine  is  certainly  the  best;  but 
Heaven  save  us  battered  Republicans  from  a 
"vintage"  machine. 

One  word  in  closing.  Do  not  feel  obliged 
to  attend  any  caucus  on  my  account.  To  be 
sure,  I  voted  the  Republican  ticket,  and  there 
fore,  according  to  the  gospellers,  I  gave  you 
a  "clear  mandate"  to  attend  a  caucus  and 
vote  for  Weeks  or  Draper  or  some  other 
walking  delegate  of  the  Political  Machinists' 
Brotherhood  of  Happier  Days.  I  absolve  you 
from  that  imaginary  obligation.  Like  all  the 
rest  of  the  Republican  voters  of  Massachu 
setts,  I  knew  nothing  of  this  "clear  man 
date"  business  until  after  I  had  voted  on  No 
vember  5.  The  Republican  Brahmins  ought 
to  have  taken  us  into  their  confidence  ear 
lier.  Before  election,  oysters  were  chatter 
boxes  as  compared  with  the  steam  roller 
engineers. 

C  77  3 


LETTERS  OF  AUGUSTUS  P.  GARDNER 

With  assurances  of  my  real  respect  for  you 
and  for  your  trusty  sword,  I  am 
Sincerely  yours 

A.  P.  GARDNER 

To  His  WIFE 

House  of  Representatives,  U.S. 
Washington,  D.C. 

Aprils,  1913 

WELL,  the  great  ceremony  is  over  and  Pres 
ident  Wilson  has  revived  a  custom  one  hun 
dred  and  twenty-odd  years  old,  etc.  There 
has  been  no  end  of  newspaper  comment.  The 
papers  here  say  that  he  was  cheered  when 
he  mounted  the  steps  of  the  Speaker's  dais. 
Not  a  word  of  truth  in  it. 

The  plain  facts  are  these :  It  was  a  very 
graceful  little  ceremony  to  which  we  were 
treated.  First,  the  Senate  filed  in  and  was 
seated.  Then  the  President  arrived  escorted 
by  a  committee  and  was  received  by  House 
and  Senate  standing.  He  was  greeted  with 
respectful  handclapping,  mostly  from  the 
Democratic  side  of  the  House. 
[  783 


TO  HIS  WIFE 

The  President's  speech  was  admirably  de 
livered.  He  was  the  typical  American  gentle 
man  and  college  President  every  minute  of 
the  time.  I  could  scarcely  dissociate  him  from 
Eliot,1  so  strong  is  the  similarity  of  their  de 
livery  and  manner. 

The  address  itself  was  a  pleasant  bit  of 
literature;  I  do  not  say  "literary  effort"  be 
cause  no  trace  of  effort  appeared.  If  I  were 
to  criticise,  I  should  say  that  the  elements  of 
study  and  definiteness  were  entirely  lacking. 

On  the  whole,  the  new  President  created 
a  very  pleasing  impression.  After  he  had  fin 
ished  there  was  another  round  of  handclap- 
ping  in  which  many  Republicans  joined.  In 
fact,  I  myself  overcame  my  party  prejudices 
sufficiently  to  applaud. 

I  see  no  reason  why  President  Wilson 
should  not  address  Congress  in  person  if  he 
so  desires.  On  the  other  hand,  I  see  no  rea 
son  why  he  should  desire  to  do  so. 

1  Charles  William  Eliot,  President  Emeritus  of  Har 
vard  University. 

79 


LETTERS  OF  AUGUSTUS  P.  GARDNER 

To  HON.  WILLIAM  H.  MOODY  * 

Washing-tony  January  6,  1914 

MY  DEAR  PREDECESSOR: 
I  AM  very  much  ashamed  that  I  did  not  find 
time  to  get  to  see  you  before  I  returned  to 
Washington  after  election.  The  fact  is,  how 
ever,  that  I  did  not  visit  Haverhill  at  all  this 
fall;  —  not  because  I  was  too  lazy,  but  be 
cause  something  always  intervened. 

Washington  seems  like  a  bad  dream. 
Pretty  much  all  the  old  crowd,  men  and 
women,  are  gone.  Smug  Democrats  every 
where.  Even  those  Democrats  whom  we 
used  to  like  are  now  hard  to  bear.  As  for 
those  Democrats  whom  we  could  not  stand, 
they  are  less  standable  than  ever. 

Oscar  Underwood  looks  as  if  he  had  swal 
lowed  a  canary.  Swagar  Sherley 2  patronizes 

1  Hon.  William  H.  Moody  of  Haverhill,  Member  of 
Congress,  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  Attorney-General,  Jus 
tice  of  the  Supreme  Court.    Died  1917. 

2  Hon.  Swagar  Sherley,  a  prominent  Democratic  Mem 
ber  of  Congress  from  Kentucky. 

I  8°  3 


Augustus  Peabody  Gardner 

As  a  Member  of  Congress 
Copyright  by  Harris  &  Ewing,  Washington,  D.C. 


TO  HON.  WILLIAM  H.  MOODY 
me  as  if  I  were  a  promising  schoolboy,  and 
I  have  no   Nick  Longworth1  to  help  me 
snicker  behind  the  backs  of  the  beggars  on 
horseback. 

Jim  Mann 2  is  an  excellent  leader.  More 
than  half  his  followers  are  radical  (or  feel 
so  at  present).  Jim  is  only  radical  in  spots, 
and  not  in  very  many  spots  at  that.  Yet  you 
would  be  surprised  to  know  how  much  the 
boys  think  of  him. 

Mann  fights  like  a  general  who  cleverly 
commands  a  beaten  army  in  retreat.  He 
never  unnecessarily  exposes  his  troops  on 
the  cold  hillside  of  a  Yea  and  Nay  vote,  and 
he  succeeds  in  harassing  the  enemy  not  a 
little.  At  heart  I  think  that  Mann's  belief  is 
that  the  true  Republican  policy  is  to  mark 
time  until  something  happens.  He  might  be 
correct  if  it  were  true  that  the  Republican 

1  Hon.  Nicholas  Longworth,  Congressman  from  Ohio. 
He  had  just  lost   his  seat,  but  came  back  to  Congress 
two  years  later. 

2  Hon.  James  R.  Mann,  Republican  minority  leader 
from  Illinois. 

C  8l  3 


LETTERS  OF  AUGUSTUS  P.  GARDNER 
Party  is  a  conservative  party,  while  the 
Democratic  Party  and  the  Progressive  Party 
are  radical  parties.  That  is  not  a  correct  pos 
tulate,  however.  Moreover,  I  doubt  if  it  ever 
becomes  so. 

How  can  the  Republican  Party  in  the  long 
run  be  successful  as  an  unmitigated  conserv 
ative  party  seeing  that  circumstances  prevent 
it  from  availing  itself  of  any  conservative 
force  south  of  Maryland  ?  Personally,  I  be 
lieve  that  old  Disraeli  was  right,  and  that 
statesmanship  consists  in  keeping  the  party 
line  of  demarcation  perpendicular  instead  of 
horizontal. 

Of  course,  I  do  not  think  that  the  Repub 
lican  Party  can  go  into  an  auction  in  radical 
ism  with  the  Democrats  and  Progressives. 
We  should  be  ridiculous  if  we  tried  to  beat 
the  others  at  their  own  game.  Nevertheless, 
it  is  my  opinion  that  we  make  a  mistake 
when  we  turn  the  cold  cheek  of  the  doctri 
naire  towards  projects  which  have  elsewhere 
in  the  world  attained  at  least  sufficient  sue- 

C  82  3 


TO  HIS  DAUGHTER 

cess  to  give   their   advocates  a  foothold  in 
argument. 

With  best  wishes,  I  am 

Sincerely  yours 

A.  P.  GARDNER 


To  His  DAUGHTER 

House  of  Representatives 

Washington,  D.C. 

May  8,  1914 

MY  DEAR  TOOK  : 

PRAY  pardon  the  familiarity  of  a  comparative 
stranger  who  ventures  to  address  you  by 
your  sobriquet. 

This  epistle  is  indited  as  an  expression  of 
my  gratification  at  the  tenor  of  the  communi 
cation  recently  received  by  your  respectable 
mother  from  your  quondam  warbling  in 
structor. 

It  is,  indeed,  a  satisfaction  to  a  parent  to 
discover,  perchance  with  a  trace  of  bewilder 
ment,  that  his  offspring  has  elected  to  avail 
herself  of  the  opportunities  afforded  her,  and 

c  83 n 


LETTERS  OF  AUGUSTUS  P.  GARDNER 
is  in  no  measure  to  be  accounted  as  of  the 
group  which  King  Lear  characterized  as  more 
acute  than  a  snake's  tusk. 

With  assurances  of  my  distinguished  con 
sideration  and  unmeasured  affection,  I  am 
Your  humble  servant  and  father 

A.  P.  GARDNER 


Ill 

WAR-TIME  ACTIVITIES 

To  SIR  CECIL  SPRING-RICE  1 

London,  England 
August  3O,  1914 

DEAR  SPRINGY: 

THE  day  you  left  here  I  went  down  to  Speyer 
Bros,  and  found  them  perfectly  willing  to 
transfer  money  to  their  Frankfort  or  Berlin 
houses,  provided  that  the  British  Government 
and  the  German  Government  both  consented. 
This  plan  proved  too  cumbersome,  but  in 
the  end  money  was  sent  through  by  the 
British  Government  to  Gerard 2  for  the  relief 
of  British  subjects.  We  were  able  to  send 
the  British  subscriptions  to  the  Gerard  Fund  in 
the  care  of  Julius  Lay,  just  appointed  Amer 
ican  Consul-General  at  Berlin.  By  the  way, 

1  Sir  Cecil  Spring-Rice,  British   Ambassador   to  the 
United  States,  at  this  time  and  until  1 9 1 8 .  He  died  in  1 9 1 8 . 

2  Hon.  J.  W.  Gerard,  American  Ambassador  to  Ger 
many. 

n  85  n 


LETTERS  OF  AUGUSTUS  P.  GARDNER 
Lay  has  just  come  from  Rio  by  way  of  Per- 
nambuco.  He  and  his  wife  came  here  on  board 
a  British  vessel  which  was  held  up  en  route  by 
a  German  cruiser;  for  some  reason,  however, 
the  Germans  allowed  the  vessel  to  proceed. 

I  have  a  great  deal  of  respect  for  Dr. 
Page's  i  judgment  and  tact.  It  seems  to  me 
that  some  day  or  other  he  ought  to  be  useful 
acting  as  intermediary  for  peace  negotiations. 

Of  course,  there  can  be  no  thought  of  peace 
at  present,  but  the  time  is  pretty  sure  to  come, 
and  may  come  sooner  than  we  expect,  when 
a  movement  for  peace  suggested  from  the 
outside  will  be  reasonably  welcomed  in  the 
same  way  that  Roosevelt's  movement  was 
welcomed  in  the  Russian  -Japanese  War.  As 
the  United  States  is  about  the  only  nation  of 
any  account  that  is  not  involved  in  this  war, 
directly  or  indirectly,  it  looks  to  me  as  if  Pres 
ident  Wilson  might  find  himself  in  much  the 

1  Hon.  Walter  H.  Page,  American  Ambassador  to  the 
Court  of  St.  James.  He  died,  after  resigning  his  post,  early 
in  1919. 

C86] 


TO  SIR  CECIL  SPRING-RICE 

same  position  that  President  Roosevelt  was  in 
when  the  Treaty  of  Peace  was  concluded  at 
Portsmouth. 

I  do  not  believe  that  there  is  any  man  in 
Europe,  or  anywhere  else,  who  is  in  a  better 
position  than  Dr.  Page  to  keep  President 
Wilson  informed  as  to  the  situation.  Certainly 
Bryan  cannot  do  so,  and  I  doubt  if  any  of  the 
American  Ambassadors  and  Ministers  in  Eu 
rope,  excepting  perhaps  Herrick,1  have  the 
capacity.  Dr.  Page,  moreover,  is  in  constant 
touch  with  Sir  Edward  Grey.  Likewise,  al 
though  London  is  not  at  present  a  clearing 
house  for  accurate  information,  nevertheless,, 
it  comes  a  great  deal  nearer  being  a  satis 
factory  clearing-house  than  any  other  place 
in  Europe. 

I  write  you  all  this  because  I  think  that 
somebody  ought  to  talk  to  President  Wilson 
about  Dr.  Page  and  about  the  necessity  of 
making  him  a  sort  of  adjutant. 

1  Hon.  Myron  T.  Herrick,  at  this  time  American  Am 
bassador  to  France. 

c  87  n 


LETTERS  OF  AUGUSTUS  P.  GARDNER 
Of  course,  President  Wilson  probably 
knows  a  great  deal  more  about  Dr.  Page  than 
you  or  I  do,  but  he  cannot  possibly  have  so 
good  an  idea  as  to  just  what  Dr.  Page  is  doing 
here  in  London. 

With  best  wishes,  I  am 

Sincerely  yours 

A.  P.  GARDNER 


To  His  WIFE 

Hamilton^  Mass. 

September  25,  1914 

DEAR  CONSTANCE  : 

I  FEEL  like  a  pig  for  not  having  written  you 
since  I  left  London;  but  I  know  you  will  un 
derstand  how  I  have  been  driven. 

I  hope  you  will  get  the  enlistment  posters. 
I  can  assure  Colonel  Mildmay J  and  the  War 
Office  that  they  will  not  be  criticised,  nor  will 
they  be  used  for  any  unholy  purpose. 

I  had  a  tremendous  reception  in  Hamilton 

1  Colonel  Herbert  St.  John  Mildmay,  British  Army, 
retired. 

£88  ] 


TO  HIS  WIFE 

when  I  got  back.  Probably  there  were  3000 
people  on  hand  and  George  Meyer1  pre 
sided.  I  talked  about  the  war  and  announced 
myself  as  being  very  strongly  in  favor  of  the 
Allies.  The  next  day  I  addressed  the  Essex 
County  Association  of  Grand  Army  Posts  and 
repeated  my  views.  On  Monday  night  I  ad 
dressed  a  terrific  crowd  at  Gloucester  from 
an  automobile,  and  once  more  laid  emphasis  on 
the  same  thing.  All  this  was  somewhat  risky 
without  first  sounding  the  public  sentiment; 
but  I  am  thankful  to  say  that  I  found  my  dis 
trict  enthusiastically  with  me  on  the  question.2 
Your  cable  of  congratulations  reached  me 
at  five  o'clock  on  Tuesday.  Inasmuch  as,  for 
the  most  part,  the  polls  did  not  close  till  eight 
o'clock,  I  knocked  wood  at  once.  The  only 
return  which  arrived  previously  to  your  cable- 

1  Hon.  George  v.  L.  Meyer,  of  Hamilton;  Ambassador 
to  Russia  and  Italy,  Postmaster-General,  Secretary  of  the 
Navy.    Died  1918. 

2  Mr.  Gardner  only  got  back  from  Europe  three  days 
before  the  Republican  primaries,  where  he  was  a  candidate 
for  renomination  to  Congress. 

£89  ] 


LETTERS  OF  AUGUSTUS  P.  GARDNER 
gram  was  the  vote  in  Essex,  where  I  had  a 
preposterously  large  majority. 

The  final  result  for  the  district  was :  Gard 
ner,  8015 ;  Andrew,1 2004.  The  most  striking 
results  were  in  Hamilton  and  Wenham.  Ham 
ilton  I  carried  138  to  i  and  Wenham  54  to  o. 
The  latest  figures  make  it  seem  as  if  Andrew 
had  lost  the  Progressive  nomination  as  well. 

To  His  WIFE 

Hamilton,  Mass. 

September  27,  1914 

I  HAVE  not  yet  told  you  of  my  doings  since  I 
left  you  at  Euston  Square  Station. 

Horace  Washington 2  met  me  at  Liverpool 
and  took  me  to  see  an  Armenian  woman,  in 
whom  I  am  interested  on  account  of  her  hus 
band,  who  is  living  in  Newburyport  She  and 
her  baby  have  been  detained  in  Liverpool 
nearly  a  year  on  account  of  trachoma. 

1  Colonel  A.  Piatt  Andrew,  of  Gloucester,  who  was 
Mr.  Gardner's  opponent. 

2  Horace  Lee  Washington,  American  Consul  at  Liver 
pool. 


TO  HIS  WIFE 

On  board  the  ship  were  many  delightful  peo 
ple  who  would  not  have  got  to  know  each  other 
under  ordinary  circumstances;  but  our  natural 
frigidity  had  been  very  much  thawed  by  our 
European  experiences.  I  should  say  that  pretty 
nearly  half  the  passengers  had  been  caught  in 
Germany  or  in  Austria  when  the  war  broke  out. 
Their  experiences  were  mighty  interesting. 

For  the  first  few  days  out  many  of  the 
passengers  were  very  nervous,  especially  as 
we  ran  with  our  portholes  shrouded  at  night 
and  did  not  use  the  fog-horn  even  when  it 
was  very  thick.  The  ship  was  very  crowded 
and  filthy.  Many  of  the  passengers  were 
obliged  to  sleep  in  the  saloon  on  account  of 
bedbugs.  On  the  other  hand,  the  food  was 
excellent ;  something  which  I  fear  would  not 
have  interested  you  very  much  if  you  had 
been  there,  as  we  had  a  rough  passage. 

Personally  I  was  very  comfortable,  as  there 
were  no  bugs  in  the  cabin  which  I  shared 
with  a  charming  Philadelphian.  His  name  is 
Wilson  Eyre  and  he  is  an  architect. 


LETTERS  OF  AUGUSTUS  P.  GARDNER 
The  Ambassador  asked  me  to  look  after 
Madame  Vandervelde,  which  I  did  as  far  as 
possible ;  but  the  poor  lady  was  sick  most  of 
the  way.  She  is  the  wife  of  the  leader  of  the 
Socialist  Party  in  Belgium.  You  may  remem 
ber  that  he  was  made  a  member  of  the  Min 
istry  at  the  outbreak  of  the  war.  Madame 
Vandervelde  is  an  Englishwoman  by  birth, 
and  delighted  me  by  her  common  sense  and 
the  absence  of  "  piffle  "  from  her  conversation. 
She  has  come  to  America  to  raise  funds  for 
the  relief  of  the  Belgians.  We  had  a  first- 
class  concert  on  board  ship  to  help  her  out  and 
we  raised  over  $350.  We  had  three  profes 
sionals  and  the  rest  amateurs.  The  violinist 
and  the  accompanist  were  both  German  sym 
pathizers,  one  of  them  being  of  German  birth 
and  the  other  said  to  be  a  Jewess.  They  took 
the  attitude  that  whoever  was  in  the  wrong 
it  certainly  was  not  Belgium,  and  the  ship 
company  very  much  appreciated  their  co 
operation. 

Quite  a  number  of  the  passengers  on  board, 

c  9*  3 


TO  MRS. 

perhaps  a  quarter,  were  German  sympathiz 
ers.  Of  course,  the  race  line  was  indicated ;  but 
by  no  means  in  every  case.  The  fact  is  that  a 
good  many  of  the  passengers  had  either  been 
living  in  Germany  or  had  received  kind  treat 
ment  from  the  Germans  after  the  war  broke 
out.  Of  course,  it  is  obvious  enough  that  Ger 
many  has  made  a  point  of  treating  Americans 
well  since  the  first  few  days  of  the  war,  and 
that  policy  had  its  effect  on  the  passengers.  It 
was  very  noticeable  among  the  children,  of 
whom  there  were  a  great  many  on  board.  Inas 
much  as  the  game  of  war  was  the  only  one  in 
which  the  children  took  any  interest,  you  can 
imagine  that  life  was  a  hell  for  seasick  women. 

To  MRS. 

December  9,  1915 

MY  DEAR 

•  •  •  to  •  •  • 

I  am  of  the  opinion  that  now  is  the  time  for 
Great  Britain  to  make  such  concessions  to  this 
country  as  her  Government  feels  are  compat- 

C  93  ] 


LETTERS  OF  AUGUSTUS  P.  GARDNER 
ible  with  Great  Britain's  dignity,  safety,  and 
obligations  to  her  allies. 

I  have  no  doubt  whatever  that  history  will 
draw  a  very  clear  distinction  between  the  sav 
agery  with  which  Germany,  as  we  allege,  has 
repeatedly  violated  our  rights  as  human  be 
ings,  and  the  recklessness,  as  we  view  it,  with 
which  Great  Britain  has  violated  our  rights  as 
traders.  The  fact  is,  however,  that  we  are  deal 
ing  with  the  editor  struggling  with  present- 
day  publicity,  and  not  with  the  future  historian 
in  the  calm  seclusion  of  his  study.  Further 
more,  it  is  to  be  remembered  that  for  the  past 
sixteen  months  the  American  people  have 
been  regaled  with  nothing  except  startling 
headlines  and  superlatives.  The  period  in 
which  we  could  view  the  international  situation 
with  a  discriminating  eye  has  passed.  Nowa 
days,  we  apply  the  word  "outrage"  to  whole 
sale  murder,  and  we  apply  the  same  wrord  to 
the  adverse  proceedings  of  a  prize  court.  We 
use  the  expression  "intolerable  affront "  when 
we  describe  an  explosion  in  a  powder  plant, 


TO  MRS. 

and  we  apply  exactly  the  same  epithet  to  a  re 
cruiting  informality  of  some  British  Consul.  In 
short,  it  is  really  a  psychological  rather  than  a 
material  atmosphere  which  envelops  our  re 
lations  with  Great  Britain.  The  British  Nation 
has  always  shown  itself  better  fitted  to  deal 
with  a  state  of  facts  rather  than  with  a  state 
of  mind.  Nevertheless,  I  feel  that  the  time  has 
come  when  it  is  imperative  that  an  effort  be 
made  to  embrace  within  the  scope  of  Great 
Britain's  vision  both  the  material  and  the  psy 
chological  aspects  of  the  situation. 

The  other  day  a  friend  of  mine,  a  man  in 
public  life,  said  to  me :  "  What  makes  us 
angry  is  that  Great  Britain's  course  somehow 
or  other  puts  on  the  defensive  all  of  us  who 
are  her  friends.  Hardly  a  day  passes  without 
the  addition  of  another  pin  prick  inflicted  by 
some  over-zealous  British  subordinate."  Of 
course,  you  and  I  know  perfectly  well  that 
every  irritating  British  act  is  magnified  a  hun 
dredfold  through  the  medium  of  the  intelli 
gent  German  press  campaign.  Nevertheless, 

E:  95  3 


LETTERS  OF  AUGUSTUS  P.  GARDNER 
whatever  the  explanation,  the  same  result  is 
being  attained  as  if  each  sting  were  devised 
with  the  express  purpose  of  exasperating  us. 

I  have  known  so  many  Englishmen  that  I 
have  no  hesitation  in  prophesying  the  first 
remark  which  will  be  called  forth  if  this  let 
ter  is  ever  read  by  one  of  your  British  friends. 
With  a  good  deal  of  certainty  I  predict  that 
he  will  say,  "  If  those  damn  Yankees  think 
that  we  are  going  to  acknowledge  ourselves 
in  the  wrong,  when,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  we 
know  that  we  are  in  the  right,  they  will  find 
themselves  very  much  mistaken."  On  recon 
sideration  I  hope  that  this  primary  opinion 
may  be  modified  so  as  to  permit  an  expres 
sion  somewhat  as  follows :  "  After  all,  what 
is  the  use  of  behaving  like  a  hedge-hog.  We 
British  may  be  right;  in  fact,  we  probably 
are  right ;  but  is  it  not  the  part  of  wisdom  to 
help  our  American  friends  apply  a  gag  to  our 
American  enemies  ?" 

Sincerely  yours 

A.  P.  GARDNER 

C  96] 


TO  HIS  DAUGHTER 

To  His  DAUGHTER 

House  of  Representatives 

Washington^  D.C. 
January  2,  1916 

MY  VERY  DEAR  CONNIE  : 

I  AM  quite  crazy  about  you.  Your  collection 
of  German  war  trophies  was  just  exactly 
what  I  wanted,  as  you  know.  Furthermore, 
you  must  have  taken  a  lot  of  trouble.  I  shall 
wear  the  U-9  ribbon  when  I  go  in  swimming 
with  the  Springy l  children  next  summer.  It 
will  please  their  Pa ! 

I  have  just  got  back  from  Boston  and  dur 
ing  my  stay  in  that  neighborhood  I  came  to 
the  conclusion  that  the  Roosevelt  boom  is 
getting  under  way  again,  probably  without 
his  consent. 

For  a  guess  the  nomination  will  lie  between 
Hughes  and  Roosevelt.  I  wish  I  knew  some 
thing  about  Hughes.  All  I  know  is  that  he 
wears  a  beard  and  stopped  horse-racing  in 
New  York.  Neither  circumstance  appeals  to 

1  The  children  of  Sir  Cecil  Spring-Rice. 


LETTERS  OF  AUGUSTUS  P.  GARDNER 
me.  The  machine  is  getting  ready  to  nomi 
nate  Hughes. 

Your  devoted  father 

A.  P.  G. 

To  LORD  EUSTACE  PERCY  1 

Washington,  D.C. 

February  16,  1916 

MY  DEAR  LORD  EUSTACE  : 
I  WAS  very  much  interested  in  your  letter 
of  January  aoth,  although  I  am  not  quite 
sure  that  I  get  your  point  of  view.   When 

I  wrote  to  Mrs. ,  other  matters  as  well 

as  the  Blockade  question  were  working  in 
my  mind. 

At  present  both  Houses  of  Congress  are 
very  silent  on  the  European  situation.  At  any 
moment,  however,  there  is  likely  to  be  an  out 
break. 

When  you  see  Lord  Bryce,2 1  wish  that  you 

1  Lord  Eustace  Percy,  an  attache  at  Washington  with 
Lord  Bryce,  and  son  of  the  Duke  of  Northumberland. 

2  Lord  Bryce,  formerly  Hon.  James  Bryce  and  Am 
bassador  at  Washington. 

C  98  3 


TO  COLONEL  THEODORE  ROOSEVELT 
would  remember  me  to  him.  Life  in  Wash 
ington,  both  to  him  and  to  you,  must  seem 
like  a  memory  of  the  dim  past.  Even  to  me  it 
seems  a  long  time  since  you  were  Scout  Mas 
ter  in  this  town. 

Sincerely  yours 

A.  P.  GARDNER 


To  COLONEL  THEODORE  ROOSEVELT 

Hamilton^  Mass. 

August  22,  1916 

MY  DEAR  COLONEL  ROOSEVELT  : 
I  DO  not  know  your  views  as  to  the  merits  of 
the  questions  involved  between  the  railroad 
men  and  their  employers.  Personally,  I  do  not 
know  whether  the  railroad  men  ought  to  be 
paid  more  or  not;  but  I  am  quite  sure  that 
President  Wilson  is  not  stating  the  issue  cor 
rectly,  and  I  am  very  much  afraid  that  he  is 
getting  away  with  his  misstatements.  If  I  un 
derstand  the  situation  aright,  the  question  of 
eight  hours  as  the  maximum  work-day  is  not 
involved.  The  men  are  not  contending  for  any 

[99  3 


LETTERS  OF  AUGUSTUS  P.  GARDNER 
change  of  their  hours  of  labor.  They  are 
merely  contending  for  a  new  basis  for  their 
computation  of  pay,  and  they  propose  to  re 
tain  their  privilege  of  working  overtime  pre 
cisely  as  it  stands  at  present.1 

There  is  another  matter  in  this  campaign 
which  I  think  needs  attention.  Mr.  Hughes 
was  inaccurate  in  his  statement  of  fact  relative 
to  Mr.  Tittman,  Chief  of  the  Coast  and  Geo 
detic  Survey.  Whether  or  not  he  was  right 
about  the  104  Civil  Service  exemptions  in  this 
same  service,  I  do  not  know.  Now,  I  am  under 
no  illusions  about  the  public  interest  in  the 
Classified  Civil  Service.  The  only  political  ad 
vantage  which  Mr.  Hughes  gains  in  his  attacks 
lies  in  the  fact  that  President  Wilson  has  al 
ways  assumed  the  virtuous  pose  with  regard 
to  the  public  service.  On  the  other  hand,  I  con- 

1  The  first  paragraph  of  this  letter,  referring  to  the  rail 
road  difficulties  of  that  time,  was  occasioned  by  the  fact  that 
the  Adamson  Bill  was  then  before  Congress.  This  sinister 
measure  was  passed  and  became  the  so-called  "Adamson 
Law";  but  it  is  needless  to  say  that  Mr.  Gardner  voted 
against  it. 

C  10°  3 


TO  COLONEL  THEODORE  ROOSEVELT 
sider  it  of  vital  importance  for  eVefy  candidate 
for  public  office,  and  in  fact  for  every  legis 
lator,  to  get  the  reputation  of  presenting  noth 
ing  but  impregnable  facts.  The  reason  why  I 
bring  this  matter  to  your  attention  is  because  I 
have  heard  that  Mr.  Hughes  is  going  to  make 
an  attack  on  Secretary  Daniels.  I  do  hope  that 
Willcox  i  will  prevent  him  from  taking  his  in 
formation  from  the  wrong  people.  I  am  quite 
positive  that  a  number  of  men  of  considerable 
repute,  who  from  time  to  time  give  out  state 
ments  with  regard  to  the  Army  and  Navy,  are 
absolutely  incorrect  in  their  facts.  My  recollec 
tion  is  that  I  noticed  a  recent  statement  of  Mr. 
Hughes  himself  with  regard  to  the  strength  of 
the  Regular  Army,  which  showed  that  he  had 
been  given  confusing  information  in  which 
"minimum  strength"  and  "peace  strength" 
had  been  mixed  up. 

If  I  were  Mr.  Willcox,  I  should  suggest  to 
Mr.  Hughes  that  he  make  no  statement  about 

1  Mr.  William  Willcox,  campaign  manager  for  Mr. 
Hughes. 

n 


LETTERS  OF  AUGUSTUS  P.  GARDNER 

the  Navy  until  he  has  the  citations,  book  and 
page,  instantly  available  on  his  desk. 
Sincerely  yours 

A.  P.  GARDNER 

To  FINLEY  PETER  DUNNE,  Esq.1 

August  SO,  1916 
MY  DEAR  PETER: 

I  AM  sending  you  herewith  part  of  the  Con 
gressional  Record  for  August  22d  and  August 
25th.  You  will  find  the  actual  hits  made  in 
Day  Individual  Battle  Practice  this  spring  in 
the  table  given  in  the  Record  of  August  25th. 
These  are  exactly  the  figures  assigned  by 
the  umpire  on  the  spot.  You  will  observe 
that  in  the  case  of  the  Kansas,  Louisiana, 
Virginia,  and  Rhode  Island,  the  figures  which 
you  published  in  Colliers  of  August  5th  are 
exactly  correct.  In  the  case  of  the  Nebraska, 
however,  you  credited  that  ship  with  one 
more  hit  than  the  umpire  gave  her,  and 
you  credited  the  New  Jersey  with  three  less 

1  F.   P.   Dunne,  creator  of  "Mr.  Dooley."    At  the 
date  of  this  letter  an  editorial  writer  for  Collier's  Weekly. 

C    102    ] 


TO  FINLEY  PETER  DUNNE,  ESQ, 
hits  than  the  umpire  reckoned.  Now,  turn  to 
the  Record  of  August  22d,  first  column,  and 
you  will  find  the  record  of  shots  fired  in 
Day  Individual  Battle  Practice.  In  Colliers 
of  August  5th,  you  debit  each  of  the  ships 
with  126  shots.  Evidently,  this  is  an  error; 
but,  after  all,  it  is  a  very  small  error,  inas 
much  as  each  of  the  vessels  whose  scores 
you  quoted  fired  105  shots  or  more.  Com 
bining  the  figures  in  the  Record  of  August 
22d  and  the  figures  in  the  Record  of  August 
25th,  we  find  the  following  results  of  Day 
Individual  Battle  Practice  this  spring,  as  al 
lowed  by  the  umpire  on  the  spot  (before 
camera  corrections  were  made  in  the  Navy 
Department) : 


Shots 

Htti 

Daniels 

Collier^ 

Daniel* 

Collier's 

Nebraska      .... 

115 
105 
107 
120 
112 
114 

126 
126 
126 
126 
126 
126 

9 
5 
10 
12 
16 
1 

10 
5 
10 
12 
13 
1 

Kansas  

Louisiana  

Virginia 

New  Jersey  
Rhode  Island  .  .  . 

C   1Q3 


LETTERS  OF  AUGUSTUS  P.  GARDNER 

I  am  sorry  that  my  figures  were  not  exact. 
I  had  them  verified  as  best  I  could.  At  all 
events,  they  are  not  very  far  out  of  the 
way. 

I  wish  you  would  particularly  note  the  re 
sults  of  Division  Practice  to  be  found  in  the 
Record  of  August  22d,  second  column.  They 
are  particularly  astounding,  especially  in  the 
case  of  the  Nebraska  and  Michigan.  The 
Congressional  Record  shows  a  dash  opposite 
each  of  these  names  instead  of  a  zero  which 
was  the  actual  score.  This  latter  fact  I  have 
verified  by  consulting  Admiral  Benson,  Act 
ing  Secretary  of  the  Navy.  It  appears  that 
the  original  letter  from  Secretary  Daniels, 
which  is  reproduced  in  the  Congressional 
Record  of  August  22d,  shows  zeros  opposite 
the  names  of  the  Michigan  and  Nebraska. 

I  have  read  Henry  Reuterdahl's  letter  to 
you,  of  which  the  following  criticisms  are  to 
be  made : 

i .  Commenting  on  Mr.  Reuterdahl's  state 
ment  as  to  the  forty  per  cent  improvement 

L  104  3 


TO  FINLEY  PETER  DUNNE,  ESQ. 
in  Elementary  Target  Practice,  the  Ele 
mentary  Target  Practice  in  1914  was  very 
bad.  I  have  not  read  the  original  of  Admiral 
Mayo's  report;  but  my  impression  is  that 
he  declared  that  the  Elementary  Target  Prac 
tice  of  1915  (not  1914)  had  improved  forty 
per  cent.  At  all  events,  here  is  an  extract 
from  the  testimony  of  Captain  Sims,*  March 
10,  1916  (page  2671,  Hearings): 

CAPTAIN  SIMS  —  Now,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  the 
target  practice  of  last  fall,  although  forty  per  cent 
better  than  the  target  practice  of  the  fall  before,  is 
still  unsatisfactory  to  a  very  considerable  degree. 
It  ought  to  be  about  double ;  and  Admiral  Mayo, 
who  is  in  charge  of  the  drilling  and  target  practice 
of  the  battleships,  has  so  stated  in  his  report,  which 
you  can  get  by  referring  to  the  Navy  Department. 

Mr.  Reuterdahl  has  probably  overlooked 
the  fact  that  Elementary  Target  Practice  was 
restored  under  Meyer2  in  the  fall  of  1912, 
Secretary  Daniels  to  the  contrary  notwith- 

1  Now  Admiral  Sims. 

2  G.  v.  L.  Meyer;  in  1912  Secretary  of  the  Navy 
under  President  Taft. 

C 


LETTERS  OF  AUGUSTUS  P.  GARDNER 
standing.  I  have  this   statement  in  writing 
from  a  gunnery  expert  of  the  Navy,  and  I 
believe  it  to  be  correct ;  but  of  course,  am  not 
in  a  position  to  prove  it. 

2.  It  is  true  that  Secretary  Daniels  pub 
lished  the  gradings  under  the  Mayo  scale. 
It  is  also  true  that  this  was  only  done  after 
Senator  Lodge  had  got  a  Resolution  through 
the  Senate  demanding  it    If  these  ratings 
were  published  previous  to  Senator  Lodge's 
Resolution,  that  fact  escaped  my  notice. 

3.  The  mere  fact  that  our  gunnery  ex 
perts  consider  our  target  practice  satisfactory 
is  by  no  means  convincing.  In  1914,  in  Ele 
mentary  Practice,  the   131/2  inch  guns  of 
the  British  Battle  Cruiser  Fleet  scored  85.43 
per  cent  of  hits.  Our  Elementary  Practice 
has  never  approached  that  figure.  As  to  the 
percentage  of  hits  in  the  various  battles  of  this 
war,  we  really  know  very  little  about  the 
facts.  In  the  Dogger  Bank  battle,  the  official 
report  leads  me  to  believe  that  both  sides  ex 
pended  a  lot  of  ammunition  at  almost  impos- 


TO  HIS  DAUGHTER 

sible  ranges  on  the  chance  of  disabling  the 
adversary  by  a  lucky  hit. 

Sincerely  yours 

A.  P.  GARDNER 

To  His  DAUGHTER 

New  York,  N.  Y. 

October  29,  1916 

DEAREST  CONNIE  : 

I  AM  here  on  a  speaking  tour  of  New  York 
and  New  Jersey.  The  election  looks  to  be  a 
pretty  close  thing,  which  makes  me  shudder. 
I  never  in  my  life  cared  one  tenth  as  much  as  I 
do  this  year  about  anything  political.  If  Wil 
son  is  elected,  it  will  mean  nothing  more  nor 
less  than  the  triumph  of  pusillanimity,  your 
ambassador  to  the  contrary  notwithstanding.1 
I  expect  a  pretty  fair  majority,  although  I 
voted  against  the  Adamson  Bill  and  there  is 
a  big  labor  vote  in  my  district.  My  oppo 
nent,  Arthur  Howard,  has  not  as  yet  attacked 
me  on  my  pro- Ally  rampage.  Hence  I  think 

1  Hon.  James  W.  Gerard,  American  Ambassador  in 
Berlin. 

[  1073 


LETTERS  OF  AUGUSTUS  P.  GARDNER 
that  my  stand  is  fairly  popular  in  my  dis 
trict.  .  .  . 

I  do  not  expect  Hughes  to  get  the  hyphen 
vote.  I  think  Bernstorff  is  for  Wilson. 

To  COLONEL  ROOSEVELT 

Hamilton,  Mass. 

November  10,  1916 

MY  DEAR  COLONEL: 

I  DON'T  know  how  far  you  are  committed  to 
the  "League  to  Enforce  Peace  "  !  but  I  wish 
you  would  read  the  enclosed  speech  and  write 
me  your  criticisms. 

Evidently  a  vast  amount  of  money  is  being 
spent  on  this  propaganda.  The  purpose  of  it 
all  seems  to  be  to  persuade  the  American  peo 
ple  that  nations  with  great  military  strength, 
little  land,  and  no  money  will  be  willing  to 
enter  into  an  agreement  for  the  purpose  of 
protecting  from  war  the  United  States,  which 
has  no  military  strength,  boundless  land,  and 
untold  money. 

Sincerely  yours 

A.  P.  GARDNER 

C 


TO  COLONEL  ROOSEVELT 

To  COLONEL  ROOSEVELT 

Hamilton,  Mass. 

November  14,  1916 

MY  DEAR  COLONEL  : 

I  AM  in  receipt  of  your  letter  of  November 
nth,  marked  "Private"  with  two  exclama 
tion  points.  It  is  now  ashes,  so  it  will  meet 
the  eyes  of  no  one. 

In  case  you  care  for  my  opinion  as  to  the 
late  campaign,  it  is  as  follows :  If  the  rest  of 
our  side  had  struck  the  same  note  as  you 
struck,  we  should  have  won  hands  down.  The 
note  struck  by  you  and  your  followers,  in 
whom  I  include  Bird,1  Lodge,  and  myself,  was 
the  only  feature  which  distinguished  the  Re 
publican  campaign  from  a  feeble  echo  of  the 
Democratic  campaign. 

Sincerely  yours 

A.  P.  GARDNER 

Hon.  Charles  Sumner  Bird,  of  Massachusetts. 


C  109 


LETTERS  OF  AUGUSTUS  P.  GARDNER 

To  His  DAUGHTER 

Hamilton,  Mass. 

November  15,  1916 

DEAR  CONNIE  : 

ELECTIONS  are  horrid  things.  I  just  paid  a 
bet  which  I  lost  by  Hughes'  defeat.  I  am 
quite  convinced  that  he  could  have  won  if  the 
Republican  Party  had  made  its  fight  along 
Roosevelt's  line  of  attack:  to  wit,  Wilson's 
tremulous  foreign  policy. 

My  own  campaign  I  fought  on  exactly 
those  lines.  I  linked  Wilson  with  King  Con- 
stantine,  who  likewise  kept  his  country  out  of 
war,  and  I  contrasted  the  pair  with  Lincoln 
and  King  Albert,  both  of  whom  plunged  their 
country  into  war.  I  was  bitterly  criticised.  It 
was  said  that  I  was  clamoring  for  a  break 
with  Germany,  which  is  practically  true.  I 
was  accused  of  a  desire  to  force  this  country 
into  war,  which  is  not  true.  But,  when  the 
votes  were  counted  I  had  21,905  votes  against 
my  Democratic  opponent's  8563  votes.  I 
exceeded  my  plurality  of  two  years  ago  by 

C  110  3 


TO  HIS  DAUGHTER 

over  1100  votes.  I  had  the  biggest  plurality 
of  any  Congressman  from  Massachusetts.  I 
ran  10,000  votes  ahead  of  Hughes  in  this 
district  and  7000  votes  ahead  of  McCalU 
All  of  which  I  write  you  not  out  of  vanity; 
but  because  I  believe  that  my  vote  indicates 
that  hereabouts  the  pro- Ally  sentiment  is  deep 
and  strong  while  the  pro-Boche  sentiment  is 
weak  and  noisy. 

We  have  eight  little  pigs  on  one  of  which 
I  hope  to  give  Thanks.  Over  another  of  them 
I  hope  to  throw  lip  at  Xmastide. 

Biddle's 2  two  surviving  puppies  are  thriv 
ing.  All  of  these  details  I  send  you  by  way 
of  a  lure  to  the  tempting  domesticity  of  Saga 
more  Farm.  Beleaguered  as  you  are  in  Berlin, 
the  only  effect  which  I  produce  on  you  is 
likely  to  be  a  sensation  of  hunger. 

1  Hon.  Samuel  W.  McCall,  at  that  time  Governor  of 
Massachusetts. 

2  Biddle  is  a  dog. 


IV 
THE  ARMY  AGAIN 

To  His  WIFE 

Headquarters  Eastern  Department 
Governors  Island,  New  York  City 

May  25,  1917 

DEAREST  CONSTANCE  : 

"  BACK  to  the  Army  again,  Sergeant."  I  be 
lieve  that  I  take  to  the  red  tape  of  the  Adju 
tant's  Office  as  a  duck  takes  to  water. 

I  have  a  room  at  the  Officers'  Club  here  on 
the  Island.  At  the  present  moment  there  is  a 
hop  going  on  and  the  musicians'  gallery  is  just 
outside  my  bedroom  door.  Consequently  I 
have  retired  to  the  silence  of  the  Adjutant's 
Office. 

I  don't  believe  that  I  shall  leave  this  Island 
much,  as  the  conditions  here  are  good  for  work 
and  health.  At  my  age  I  have  n't  much  chance 
of  getting  anywhere  except  by  work  or  wire 
pulling. 


TO  HIS  WIFE 

To  His  WIFE 

Hotel  Dempsey,  Macon,  Georgia 
August  28,  1917 

DEAREST  CONSTANCE  : 

THANK  you  so  much  for  your  letter.  As  you 
will  see  from  the  heading  I  am  still  at  a  hotel; 
but  I  move  into  camp  tomorrow.  There  are  no 
troops  here  as  yet,  except  a  few  camp  guards, 
etc.  We  are  supposed  to  have  a  division  of 
24,000  men  or  thereabouts ;  but  as  a  matter 
of  fact  there  are  (confidentially)  only  14,000 
National  Guardsmen  left  available  in  the  three 
States  of  Georgia,  Alabama,  and  Florida.  Un 
less  we  fill  up  with  drafted  men  I  don't  know 
what  we  can  do. 

I  have  six  civilian  clerks,  all  inexperienced. 
It  has  been  pretty  hard  work ;  but  the  office  is 
now  running  pretty  well.  Strange  to  say,  it  is 
cool  here  at  night  on  account  of  the  elevation. 
Atlanta  is  even  cooler. 


c  us 3 


LETTERS  OF  AUGUSTUS  P.  GARDNER 

To  His  WIFE 

Atlanta,  Georgia 

-September  23,  1917 

DEAREST  CONSTANCE: 
I  HAVE  been  recommended  as  one  of  the  offi 
cers  to  be  sent  to  France  for  instruction  in 
General  Staff  work.  I  have  some  doubts 
whether  the  War  Department  will  act  for 
mally,  however,  as  I  have  a  little  too  much 
rank.  However,  it  is  a  great  compliment  to  be 
picked  by  the  Division  Commander. 

I  shall,  of  course,  wire  you  if  I  get  my 
orders. 

I  am  up  here  for  a  day  to  see  the  drafted 
men  come  in  to  Camp  Gordon.  Their  spirit  is 
fine  and  they  impress  me  very  favorably. 
Camp  Gordon  is  a  wonderfully  elaborate 
wooden  city.  I  believe  it  is  said  to  have 
cost  $4,000,000  to  build.  The  newcomers 
are  being  handled  admirably  without  con 
fusion. 

Georgia  certainly  has  changed  a  lot.  This 
city  might  be  in  New  Jersey,  and  Macon  like- 


TO  HIS  WIFE 

wise.  They  are  not  nice  and  old-fashioned  like 
South  Carolina  cities. 

Occasionally,  but  not  often,  I  see  an  officer 
(regular)  whom  I  have  known  before ;  but  or 
dinarily  nothing  but  strangers,  mostly  South 
erners.  There  are  a  few  Massachusetts  officers 
at  Macon  whom  I  know,  Major  Keenan  i  in 
command  of  the  Ambulance  Section.  Captain 
Warren,  of  Boston,  with  whom  I  went  to  Sun 
day-School  at  Emmanuel  Church,  and  Captain 
Tandy,  who  has  left  us  and  sailed  with  Gen 
eral  Edwards' 2  Division.  Alty  Morgan's  son 
is  here  at  Camp  Gordon.  That  about  ends  the 
list. 

I  like  the  far-southern  enlisted  men  very 
much.  Our  troops  came  from  Georgia,  Florida, 
and  Alabama.  Many  of  our  Reserve  officers 
are  from  Tennessee. 

1  Now  Colonel  George  F.  Keenan,  1919. 

2  Major-General    Clarence   R.    Edwards,    who   com 
manded  the  26th  (Yankee)  Division  in  France. 


C  "S3 


LETTERS  OF  AUGUSTUS  P.  GARDNER 

To  His  WIFE 

Headquarters  Thirty-First  Division 
Camp  Wheeler,  Ga. 

October  6,  1917 

DEAREST  CONSTANCE  : 
I  AM  taking  my  inoculation  for  typhoid  and 
para-typhoid,  which  is  necessary  in  case  any 
thing  occurs  along  the  line  which  I  told  you 
about  in  a  recent  letter. 

My  first  dose  did  not  bother  me  at  all, 
and  I  felt  as  well  as  could  be  the  next  day. 
The  second  dose  has  made  me  feel  pretty 
seedy ;  but  the  disagreeable  effects  will  be  gone 
tomorrow. 

It  is  extraordinary  how  cold  the  weather 
has  been.  I  went  up  to  Atlanta  this  last 
week,  where  the  elevation  is  somewhat  higher, 
and  was  cold  in  bed  with  two  light  blankets 
and  a  heavy  army  coat  over  me.  By  the 
way,  the  heavy  army  coat  belonged  to  E.  D. 
Morgan,  Jr.,  who  is  an  aide  on  General 
Swift's  staff.  I  suspect  you  know  him;  you 
certainly  know  his  father,  Alty  Morgan. 

C  1163 


TO  HIS  WIFE 

The  Captain  of  the  Headquarters  Troop 
at  Camp  Gordon,  Atlanta,  is  a  son  of  Charlie 
Choate.1  You  remember  that  his  father  and 
mother  were  married  the  same  day  that  we 
were.  He  is  a  splendid-looking  young  fel 
low,  and  the  officers  at  Headquarters  told 
me  he  was  very  efficient.  He  came  to  Fort 
McPherson  at  the  same  time  as  Harold 
Blanchard,2  unless  I  am  mistaken. 

To  His  WIFE 

Headquarters  Thirty-First  Division 
Camp  IVheeler,  Ga. 

October  22,  1917 

DEAR  CONSTANCE: 

ABOUT  6500  drafted  men  have  been  sent  to 
this  division.  When  all  the  drafted  men  who 
are  due  have  arrived,  the  division  will  still  be 
5000  short  or  thereabouts.  The  situation  is 
just  this :  The  War  Department  started  out 
counting  on  organizing,  from  the  States  of 

1  Charles  F.  Choate,  of  Boston.    Lawyer. 

2  Now  Lieutenant-Colonel  Harold  Blanchard;  D.S.C., 
and  Croix  de  Guerre  with  palm. 

L  "7  3 


LETTERS  OF  AUGUSTUS  P.  GARDNER 
Alabama,  Florida,  and  Georgia,  a  National 
Guard  division  of  26,ooo-odd  men  and  a 
National  Army  division  of  the  same  size  of 
white  drafted  men. 

The  fact  was,  however,  that  there  were 
only  14,500  National  Guardsmen  altogether 
in  the  three  States  named.  Of  this  number 
3500  were  taken  for  the  so-called  Rainbow 
Division,  leaving  11,000  for  us.  There  were 
still  supposed  to  be  over  20,000  drafted 
white  men  who  could  be  called  upon  to  fill 
out  gaps;  but  the  20,000  has  dwindled  down 
to  9500.  The  sum  and  substance  of  it  all  is: 
three  States  which  were  expected  to  form 
two  divisions,  in  reality  are  able  to  form  a 
good  deal  less  than  a  single  division. 

The  drafted  troops  last  week  came  largely 
from  the  82d  Division  at  Camp  Gordon. 
Who  should  turn  up  in  command  of  a  train 
load  of  them  but  Harold  Blanchard !  I  was 
standing  on  a  table  in  the  warehouse  where 
the  newcomers  were  being  assigned  when  I 
heard  a  familiar  voice  address  me  as  Colonel. 

C   "8   3 


TO  HIS  WIFE 

I  had  not  the  slightest  idea  that  Harold  was 
within  a  thousand  miles;  I  had  supposed,  of 
course,  that  he  was  at  Camp  Devens.  I  have 
been  over  to  Camp  Gordon  twice  without 
seeing  him  or  hearing  of  him,  and  yet  it  ap 
pears  that  he  has  been  there  for  two  months 
commanding  a  battalion  of  the  324th  In 
fantry.  He  dined  at  the  mess  here  and  re 
turned  to  Atlanta  at  once.  He  is  looking 
well.  Of  course  he  was  sure  to  be  a  good 
soldier. 


To  His  WIFE 

Headquarters  Thirty- First  Division 

Camp  Wheeler,  Ga. 
October  29 -November  5,  1917 

MY  DEAR  CONSTANCE  : 
MY  tent  has  gradually  converted  itself  into  a 
house  with  a  canvas  roof.  The  walls  have  been 
boarded  up  from  the  floor  until  they  reach 
the  eaves.  A  wooden  extension  has  grown  up 
behind,  and  in  it  is  a  stove,  and  above  the  stove 
is  a  glass  window.  What  with  wooden  shelves 

c  ^9  3 


LETTERS  OF  AUGUSTUS  P.  GARDNER 

running  around  three  sides,  and  a  wooden  floor 
and  a  wooden  platform  in  front,  together  with 
electric  lights,  I  hardly  feel  as  if  it  were  a 
tent  at  all. 

There  has  been  a  great  deal  of  pneumonia 
in  camp  and  nearly  everybody  has  had  a  cold. 
The  weather  has  been  very  cold  and  many 
of  the  soldiers  have  insufficient  equipment. 
The  drafted  men  are  still  coming  in,  but  there 
is  no  prospect,  at  present,  of  a  division  at  full 
strength. 

In  the  strictest  confidence  we  have  our  orders 
to  sail  in  December  (date  unknown).  When 
we  move  I  shall,  of  course,  be  with  the  troops 
every  minute  unless  we  are  concentrated  at 
Tenafly,  New  Jersey,  or  something  of  the 
sort.  I  do  not  know  whether  or  not  we  sail 
from  New  YorL  It  may  be  necessary  for  you 
to  come  to  me  to  say  Good-bye;  but  I  can 
tell  you  more  about  it  later. 

Your  letter  of  November  2d  here  just  now. 
I  do  not  know  whether  I  am  glad  to  go.  I 
try  not  to  reckon  in  the  old  terms  of  thought 

C  12°  3 


Augustus  Peabody  Gardner 

At  Camp  Wheeler,  Macon,  Georgia,  November,  1917 


TO  HON.  JOSEPH  P.  TUMULTY 
until  the  war  is  over.  I  hope  I  am  ready  for 
anything. 

To  HON.  JOSEPH  P.  TUMULTY 

[In  May,  1917,  just  before  Major  Gardner  was 
sworn  into  the  service  of  the  United  States,  we 
met  Mr.  Tumulty,  Secretary  to  the  President, 
at  luncheon.  He  and  Major  Gardner  had  some 
talk,  and  finally  Mr.  Tumulty  said  that  if  at  any 
time  Major  Gardner  had  occasion  to  express  his 
views,  otherwise  than  through  military  channels,  he 
wished  that  the  Major  would  write  to  him.  The 
understanding  was  that  any  letter  written  under 
such  circumstances  would  be  brought  to  the  atten 
tion  of  the  Administration. 

After  Major  Gardner's  death  I  found  the  follow 
ing  letter,  a  carbon  copy  of  the  original,  in  his 
files.  I  need  hardly  say  that  it  has  never  before 
been  made  public.  —  C.  G.] 

December  1,  1917 

DEAR  MR.  TUMULTY  : 
BEFORE  I  left  Washington  you  suggested  to 
me  at  Mrs.  McLean's  that  I  should  write 
you  if  I  felt  that  there  was  any  occasion  to 
express  my  views  otherwise  than  through 
military  channels. 

C  121  3 


LETTERS  OF  AUGUSTUS  P.  GARDNER 

Taking  advantage  of  this  suggestion  I  am 
writing  you  a  few  words  about  health  condi 
tions  and  the  Base  Hospital  at  Camp  Wheeler. 

The  danger  is  that  some  one  may  be  dealt 
with  unjustly  and  be  loaded  with  the  responsi 
bility  for  a  situation  over  which  he  had  no 
control  whatever. 

There  have  been  100  deaths  from  pneu 
monia  and  1 1  deaths  from  other  causes  at 
this  camp.  Of  this  number  96  have  occurred 
within  the  last  three  weeks.  To  my  mind 
the  explanation  is  fairly  simple.  The  follow 
ing  are  the  conditions  as  I  see  them : 

Between  October  i6th  and  soth,  we  re 
ceived  about  10,000  drafted  men  from  Camp 
Gordon,  Camp  Pike,  and  Camp  Jackson. 
With  the  exception  of  about  3000  from  Camp 
Pike,  they  came  without  overcoats,  in  cotton 
outer  garments,  and  cotton  underclothes; 
some  without  blouses.  None  of  them  had  had 
experience  in  sleeping  out  of  doors  and  none 
were  accustomed  to  camping  out.  They  went 
from  their  homes  in  September  to  the  Na 
il  122  3 


TO  HON.  JOSEPH  P.  TUMULTY 
tional  Army  cantonment,  where  they  were 
housed  in  warmed  barracks.  From  these 
cantonments  they  came  here  without  any 
toughening;  arrived  in  camp  when  cold 
weather  prevailed  and  where  the  air  in  the 
tents  was  damp  at  night ;  with  spirits  depressed 
and  all  the  feeling  of  strangeness  which  tends 
to  reduce  a  man's  vitality.  Being  from  rural 
areas,  many  had  never  had  measles,  and  this 
disease  spread  rapidly.  Better  soil  in  which 
to  sow  the  seeds  of  pneumonia  could  not  be 
imagined. 

The  Base  Hospital  at  Camp  Wheeler  is 
calculated  for  500  patients,  and  over  three 
times  this  number  of  sick  men  was  of  neces 
sity  thrust  upon  it.  It  is  true  that  the  bulk 
of  the  cases  were  cases  of  measles;  but 
measles  is  a  disease  by  no  means  to  be  treated 
lightly  under  these  circumstances.  For  a  while 
the  number  of  nurses  was  entirely  insufficient, 
and  of  course  there  was  the  confusion  and 
deficiency  incident  to  a  contingency  not  fore 
seen  when  the  Base  Hospital  was  designed.  A 

C 


LETTERS  OF  AUGUSTUS  P.  GARDNER 

glance  at  the  consolidated  clothing  and  equip 
ment  chart  of  this  division  for  October  soth  in 
my  mind  is  a  good  deal  more  enlightening 
than  reams  of  reports.  The  enlisted  strength 
of  the  division  on  October  soth  was  18,155 
men.  At  that  time  there  had  been  issued  to 
the  command  warm  clothing  as  follows : 

Overcoats 9,952 

Woolen  breeches 4,592 

Woolen  coats 3,9OO 

Woolen  drawers 3,873 

Woolen  undershirts      .     .     .     .  3,675 

I  no  more  blame  the  Quartermaster-Gen 
eral  than  I  blame  the  authorities  in  this  camp. 
The  fact  is  that  the  industries  of  this  country 
were  not  in  shape  to  turn  out  woolen  cloth 
ing  fast  enough.  That  is  about  all  there  is  to 
it.  I  suppose  that  many  people  believe  that 
these  long  delays  in  furnishing  supplies  are 
due  to  "red  tape."  Undoubtedly  "red  tape'' 
has  something  to  do  with  it.  In  our  endeav 
ors  to  enforce  economy  and  prevent  specula 
tion,  we  have  thrown  so  many  legislative 
and  regulative  safeguards  and  counterchecks 

C  124  ] 


TO  HIS  WIFE 

around  expenditures  that  we  have  emphati 
cally  retarded  action. 
With  best  wishes,  I  am 

Very  truly  yours 

A.  P.  GARDNER 

Adjutant-General 
Division  Adjutant 

P.S.  Any  one  who  supposes  this  part  of 
Georgia  to  be  warm  is  very  much  mistaken. 


To  His  WIFE 

Camp  Wheeler,  Ga. 
December  27,  1917 

DEAREST  CONSTANCE  : 

YOUR  bully  Christmas  present1  came  today 
and  I  am  proudly  wearing  it  at  the  present 
moment.  It  is  a  beauty,  and  I  much  prefer  a 
pigskin  strap. 

How  I  should  have  loved  to  be  with  you 
on  Christmas.  Think  of  us  with  a  brace  of 
grandchildren  on  our  hands!  Well,  here's 

1  A  wrist  watch. 


LETTERS  OF  AUGUSTUS  P.  GARDNER 
hoping  that  next  Christmas  will  find  us  all 
together. 

I  have  been  having  a  good  deal  of  difficulty 
with  my  Battalion,  owing  to  absences  with 
out  leave  and  one  cause  or  another.  The  fact 
is  that  there  has  been  no  Major  on  duty  with 
my  four  companies  for  some  time  past,  prac 
tically  speaking. 

This  is  one  of  my  best  personal  efforts  on 
a  typewriter,  so  no  army  field  clerk  is  ad 
mitted  to  our  secrets. 


To  His  DAUGHTER 

121st  Infantry,  U.  S.  Camp  Wheeler,  Ga. 
December  28,  1917 

DEAREST  CONNIE: 

THINK  of  you  with  a  brace  of  Kids.1  Why, 
you  ridiculous  person!  You  are  not  old 
enough  to  be  married  even. 

I  have  shifted  over  to  the  Infantry,  as  you 
probably  know.  It  is  a  good  deal  better  job 

1  His  daughter's  second  child  was  two  weeks  old  at 
this  date. 


TO  HIS  DAUGHTER 

to  be  in  command  of  men  than  to  be  in  com 
mand  of  basketsful  of  papers.  However,  to 
lose  two  grades  in  seven  months  is  going 
some. 

When  we  shall  get  away  is  a  puzzle.  We 
are  over  5000  men  short  of  a  full  division 
and  no  new  men  coming,  owing  to  the  fact 
that  we  have  been  infected  with  measles  and 
pneumonia  rampant. 

Good-bye  and  God  bless  you  and  yours, 
Connie. 


ftfce  ttiterlfte  prc« 

CAMBRIDGE  .  MASSACHUSETTS 
U   .  S   .  A 


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